Janay Richmond

Every month, staff at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy gather for a staff activity, an opportunity for us to step away from our computers and bond.

In my 1.5 years here, we’ve done everything from yoga and packing up our office in the month prior to our recent move to touring the offices of one of our former board members, Dorothy Height. This fall I pounced on a chance to secure tickets to the hottest event in town, a trip to the new National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC).

It took us a long time to get here. Blacks began advocating for a museum 100 years ago and legislation was before Congress 13 times before they finally acted on it. It was certainly a celebration that the time finally came for a museum where people from all around the world can now learn the Black American’s story.

The museum also represents a milestone for African American philanthropy. While its founding donors list contains many of the country’s largest foundations, 74 percent of donors who gave at least one million are African American. “This is a staggering amount of generosity,” Emmett Carson, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, told The Washington Post. “It’s a symbol that black . . . philanthropy is not an oxymoron.”

After my initial excitement died down to normal levels, I realized that this would be a deeply impactful experience for many of us, like those of us for whom our nation’s legacy of slavery and injustice towards Black people hit home most.

We walked into the experience mindful of that factor and gave our fellow staffers the space needed to experience all that the carefully thought out structure had to offer. It was fantastic to experience the space and the moment in history together. Although we didn’t get to experience all 322,600 square feet of the museum, we reflected on the lasting impression it left on us all. I wanted to share some of those reflections with you all, too. Read my colleagues’ responses below:

“I really appreciated the sections of the museum devoted to community building, organizing and political empowerment. Having studied the civil rights movement extensively many years ago as an undergrad, it was moving to see those stories retold so well in the museum. I also loved how the museum gave real and serious attention to music, sports, politics and all aspects of life.”

— Aaron Dorfman, President and CEO

“I started on the top floor and worked my way down, though I wish I had avoided the long lines and done the bottom floor’s history galleries first! I’m saving them for my next visit because you can easily spend an hour on each level. The museum’s collection is presented in very visually creative ways. The top floor with the culture galleries is the epitome of this creativity. The floor holds so many artifacts, and the thought of how many people contributed to building the museum’s collection from scratch was overwhelmingly touching. Glass cases jut out from the walls at different depths, many featuring famous outfits; a wide array of art, posters, and records hang above, including a neon Soul Train sign; video screens feature dance, song, and film; and you can find the statue whose crown inspired the museum’s building inverted pyramid design. I highly recommend a visit!”

— Caitlin Duffy, Senior Associate for Learning and Engagement

“What struck me most about visiting NMAAHC is the depth and variety; it’s several museums in one. I started with the underground portion of the museum, which takes you on a journey through a history of Black America. While this section includes the requisite informational exhibits and countless videos from the Smithsonian’s exhaustive library, I was most struck by the interactive sections, which included the opportunity to explore a section of a reconstructed slave ship and to experience the claustrophobic environment of a slave cabin. Equally as impressive is the upstairs portion, which features art, sport, music, pop culture and several touchscreen activities. The care put into each exhibit is impressive, and I can’t wait to make a return trip when the crowds are smaller.”

— Peter Haldis, Senior Associate for Communications

“I believe that one of the most important things we can do as citizens is to explore our history. Diving back into the past allows us to see how far we’ve come, see how far we must go, and perhaps most importantly, it allows us to understand how we got here. The National Museum of African American History & Culture does just that. Even the biggest history buff or the most woke among us will find immense value in the story behind the millions of Americans of African descent who live in America today. The nation’s troubled history is exposed and explored and emotion is ever-present. Celebration and triumph are mixed together with the heart-wrenching accounts of suffering drawn from real people across all periods of time. In my three hours, I was touched most by the exhibit on the life and death of Emmett Till. Drawn away in a corner room, the casket of Emmett sits in a backdrop of a five-meter picture from his funeral. Church hymns play over the speaker, and videos of his mother describing her horror make for an overwhelming experience.”

— Henry Lagrimini, Membership Intern

“While I wasn’t able to see every single section, I really appreciated the ‘Musical Crossroads’ section, which gave me an opportunity to educate myself further on the music that has influenced so much of American arts and culture. Having had deep interest in Hip-Hop and taking classes on it in college, it was wonderful to see how the museum dedicated itself to telling that story and show that perspective. Hip-Hop culture has always been a huge driver in developing contemporary trends and styles, so I loved being in a place that took ownership of that.”

— Jack Rome, Communications Intern

“The Crown Jewel is resplendent in its majesty, sitting on a hill, holding its treasures of the beauty, pain and glory of a people’s untold story and journey. This time we get to tell the story, in our own space, in our own words, in our own style and with our own inflections. For we are master storytellers. Had to be to preserve what’s ours. Had to be, so we could instill pride and confidence so the young ‘uns could endure each day. Had to be so our children, grandchildren and future generation would know the truth, the whole truth, from us. We get to show and tell that we are philanthropists. Have always been, for that’s part of how we have survived. Through the generosity of the brave and courageous ones before us who gave the ultimate gift of their lives, took chances to save and liberate, gave us shoulders to stand on and reach, gave from their measly earnings to support the church and community, and saved and tucked away treasures that catalogued the proof of our presence and contributions, finally now on display. We have been giving, long before it had a fancy name. We give because it is who we are, how we are, and because our survival depended on it.”

— Beverley Samuda-Wylder, Director of Human Resources and Administration

“After six years in D.C., I’ve been privileged enough to visit and experience each of the Smithsonian museums more than once. I love them all, but the NMAAHC takes its place now as my favorite of the bunch. By far the most emotionally arresting space in the museum for me – and there are many – was the hall devoted to exploring and interpreting the history of the American War for Independence in the context of slavery. How could the authors of our Declaration of Independence square their soaring rhetoric and their fight for freedom with their brutal oppression of enslaved African Americans? The hall poses this question with a breathtaking display that includes a statuary series of Thomas Jefferson, the names of the people he held in slavery, and some of the Black leaders of the Revolutionary period who hoped the colonies’ declaration of freedom and liberty for all really would mean ‘for all.’ As we know now, it did not. This complicated story is our story, and we should do all we can to better understand it. I’m grateful the historians and designers that worked on the NMAAHC tackled it with so much thought and intention, and I can’t wait to go back and learn more.”

— Ryan Schlegel, Senior Research and Policy Associate

Janay Richmond is Manager of Nonprofit Membership and Engagement at NCRP. Follow @JanayRichmond1 and @NCRP on Twitter.

Photos by Caitlin Duffy.

When a 149-year-old university on the starved South Side of Chicago that serves a predominately black, predominately low-income student body is at risk of closing, that is a crisis. When several of a state’s social service providers have to cut back on staff and programs, leaving thousands of those in need unserved or underserved, that is a crisis.

The recent unimaginable poisoning of Flint, Michigan, children and their families forces us to face the reality that governments prioritizing fiscal experiments over constituents’ lives can easily result in man-made disasters.

Maybe the answer is for philanthropic organizations to respond to these man-made disasters … and to step in and help citizens prevent future disasters from happening again.

I first learned of the events taking place in Illinois over the summer when I heard a slight inflection of concern in the voices of staffers at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, an NCRP nonprofit member that advocates for housing as a human right.

That concern has since grown exponentially as protestors filled the streets and converged on Capitol Hill in response to nearly eight months of pain afflicted on the state’s most vulnerable by the people’s elected care-givers.

A conversation with Forefront, a philanthropic affinity group that brings together Illinois’s nonprofit, philanthropic, public agency, advisor and other allied voices, brought about a larger question: What role can and should philanthropy play in a budget crisis? My colleague Jeanné Isler and I put together a five-step plan to help foundations effectively respond to these rare, but potentially disastrous, circumstances.

State Budget Crisis Plan for Philanthropy

1. Dispatch emergency funds for emerging and existing movements.

Are there any groups or organizations that have been working on ending the budget impasse? There are probably groups already well-versed on the situation and equipped to quickly respond to the growing need to mobilize. Your support could tip the scale in a favorable direction for these groups. The Polk Bros. Foundation offered assistance to groups to support their extra advocacy efforts as a result of the Illinois budget impasse. Talk to advocacy and organizing groups to see what you can do to help them.

2. Speak to those directly affected.

Recognize your foundation’s individual agenda, and check it against the priorities of the people most critically impacted by the potential loss of services, resources and support systems. Reach out to and listen to the groups that are helping those people. Respond to those needs.

3. What are the emergency funding needs?

Are there social services that absolutely cannot afford to be cut from people’s lives? Are there critical institutions in danger of no longer existing? See if your foundation can support these services and institutions until the standoff is over. For example, in 2014, The Kresge Foundation stepped in to fund pensions during Detroit’s bankruptcy crisis.

4. Overcome bureaucracy to address funding needs quickly.

Last summer, I learned about Liberty Hill Foundation’s new rapid response grants. The grant program is a partnership between Liberty Hill and other funders in the Los Angeles area, but the funds are managed by the Liberty Hill Foundation. To quickly disburse the grants, the funders made current grantees aware of the available funds, but also kept their pulse on local happenings to determine the best groups to distribute funds to. Clearly this was a shift from normal giving procedures, but they recognized a need for rapid funding and made the necessary changes within their organization to make it happen. Can your foundation make these types of changes to respond to an escalated public need or to respond to a faster paced social change environment?

5. Build into your long-term plan direct funding and advocacy for the change you want to see.

Philanthropy needs to not only be nimble in making adjustments to deal with the unforeseen, but proactive in working with those directly affected to create a society that is more responsive to the voice of the people. It’s an idea that this country was founded on.

While tuned into the Ford Foundation’s recent From Protest to Power event, I heard someone say in reference to Flint, “We could have funded that a year ago. Tell us about Flint a year ago.” It’s true that some things are unpredictable. But philanthropy must possess the foresight to peer beyond the bend to see what implications governmental occurrences can have on the lives and futures of its people. Take an honest look to see which of these action steps your foundation can take now to play a proactive and preventative role in the midst of a budget crisis.

Janay Richmond is a Field Associate at NCRP. Follow @NCRP on Twitter.

Image by Daniel X. O’Nell, adapted under CC license.

As many of you know, Prop 47 was a referendum passed by Californians in 2014 that reclassified nonviolent crimes once considered felonies into misdemeanors. Since the 1980’s the state of California constructed 22 new prisons and just one university. Prop 47 was an effort to address their rapidly expanding prison system and to reallocate the savings to “school truancy and dropout prevention, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and victim services.” The intent was to provide offenders with the type of action that would prevent them from committing these acts again in the future, in hopes that early intervention might stop others from going down this road at all.

The California Association of Nonprofits and California Philanthropy (Northern California Grantmakers, San Diego Grantmakers and Southern California Grantmakers) hosted “Prop 47: Look Back. Look Forward,” a webinar discussing how the citizens of California addressed their overzealous criminal justice system, the progress that has been made since that historic decision and the major work that lies ahead. According to the presenters, since Prop 47, there have been 43,000 fewer felony convictions each year and 18,000 fewer people incarcerated, saving the state $73 million. Prop 47 also gives a path, open until November 2017, for Californians to petition to have their criminal records changed, and more than 160,000 Californians have petitioned so far. As funders and community leaders race to think of smart ways to engage the millions of others qualified to reap the benefits of this life-altering referendum before the deadline hits, I found myself having a “look back, look forward” moment of my own.

Last year at the 2015 NCRP Impact Awards, Prop 47 was on our minds as we recognized Open Society Foundations for their work helping to fund Vote Safe, the organization that directed the campaign for the referendum. As I look forward to the 2016 NCRP Impact Awards on May 3rd, I wonder what progressive victories we’ll be able to celebrate then. Nominations close tomorrow, so now is the time to submit up to 10 foundations that demonstrate exemplary grantmaking, leadership and commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity.

The year 2015 was full of triumphs and admirable hard fought losses, so as you spend the first few weeks of the New Year reflecting on the gift of life and our loved ones and the progress that we’ve made as a progressive community, please also think of the foundation partners whose presence has helped to make that progress possible. Nominate now!

And please save the date for the 2016 NCRP Impact Awards reception, to be held on the evening of Tuesday, May 3, 2016 during the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations’ Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Janay Richmond is a field associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Follow @NCRP and @JanayRichmond1 on Twitter and join the #2016NCRPImpactAwards conversation!

This post originally appeared on EPIP’s blog on November 25, 2015.

I have only been a part of the nonprofit/philanthropic sector for a little over six months – so the opportunity to participate in PolicyLink’s Equity Summit as a member of the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy’s (EPIP) People of Color Network (PCN) Delegation was a big deal for me. For one, I’d heard many great things about Angela Glover Blackwell and her colleagues over at PolicyLink. And secondly, after operating like a sponge for the past several months, absorbing and internalizing rhetoric, business practices and my own interactions within the sector, I very much looked forward to a discussion amongst my peers where we could compare and contrast our respective experiences.

The Equity Summit did not disappoint. The imagery of the closing plenary “Building a Multiracial, Multigenerational Equity Movement” will be forever engraved in my mind, with Carmen Perez, executive director of the Gathering for Justice, DeRay McKesson of We the Protestors, Geoffrey Canada, former president and CEO of Harlem Childen’s Zone, Linda Sarsour from Arab American Association of New York, Mary Kay Henry, international president of SEIU, Nick Tilsen, executive director of Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, Stewart Kwoh, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles and Robert Ross, president and CEO of The California Endowment, who served as moderator, all on stage. It was just a powerful, powerful moment where folks of various backgrounds and struggles embraced the intersectionality of this important work that they and the thousands of people in attendance, including myself, are all committed to. To me it was a statement that we’re all in this together and good enough is officially not good enough this year. Hallelujah!

I left the conference feeling inspired and even more connected with my brothers and sisters across the country who are engaged in social justice work. I now have a clear sense of how equity is paramount for all Americans, not just those in Ferguson, Baltimore, or my hometown of Chicago. I’m proud to have been a participant and so thankful for the stamina of my colleagues who have been in this fight much longer than I. I’m also thankful for folks like Manual Pastor, professor of sociology and American studies & ethnicity from the University of Southern California, Raj Chetty, Bloomberg professor of economics at Harvard University and Ezra Levin of the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), who are doing important academic and policy work to support efforts out on the ground.

But there was something Geoffrey Canada said during the closing plenary at this year’s Equity Summit that really resonated with me. He spoke about the importance of having a good support system in place, because in the face of the opposition, when the attacks that leave you questioning yourself come your way, your support network keeps you going, and quite frankly, reassures you that you haven’t in fact lost your mind. I have found that it’s tough to do this work we do, and even tougher trying to navigate this space while Black, while Native, while fill-in-the-blank. In the outward facing world, within the sector and sometimes even within our own organizations, we find ourselves seeking to overcome these obstacles in addition to fulfilling the roles we signed up for.

I remember a side comment from a previous conference where someone spoke about just how difficult it can be for the Blacks who get the seat at the table. “We sent them in there alone and we’re upset with their lack of progress, not realizing that they’re being beat up on all day.” ABFE produced a report in May of last year, The Exit Interview: Perceptions on Why Black Professionals Leave Grantmaking Institutions, which I found to be a pretty telling piece. According to their research, 40-45 percent of Blacks within these institutions indicated feeling:

Isolated “due to politics, a complex organizational culture, lack of diverse staff and/or a glass ceiling that becomes apparent at an organization’s mid-level.”
Frustrated by bureaucracy.
Undervalued because “the depth and breadth of their own expertise is not trusted.”
Weighed down by heavy scrutiny often having to “lift up external resources and authorities to make the case for their decision-making.”

Whether or not a person of color is dealing with all of these, or maybe just one or two once every blue moon, in some way, shape, or form, our experiences are often much different than our white peers. For this reason, I’m thankful that EPIP had the foresight, courage and wherewithal to provide a space where folks can shake off the things that tend to weigh us down as people of color operating within philanthropy. I hope that the PCN Delegation continues to be a safe haven, a solace and a much needed answer to Geoffrey’s warning. And I hope that my colleagues in the PCN Delegation have found in me, what I have so gratefully found in them. Support.

Janay Richmond is a field associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Follow @JanayRichmond1 and @NCRP on Twitter.

My colleagues have been working hard to put together NCRP’s very first Philamplify debate, Reform Strategies for Education, inspired by our recent assessment of the Walton Family Foundation. As someone who’s worked with youth in the past, I couldn’t be more excited for this event, to be held on September 29 from 3-4:30pm ET at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C. I’m hoping it will bring forth an honest conversation about education in America that will help forge a new path towards equity for our students. While my hopes may be a bit ambitious for an hour and a half-long discussion, I’d like to maintain that real change can happen if all participants, including the live and streaming audiences, approach it with an open mind.

I can’t help but think about the work of Leon Festinger on cognitive dissonance and psychiatrist, philosopher and revolutionist Frantz Fanon’s famous statement referencing this theory:

“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with information that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that does not fit in with the core belief.”

We may not go about our daily lives thinking of the term “cognitive dissonance,” but we’ve all seen this theory materialized. We’ve seen presidential poll numbers that don’t change regardless of the policies some candidates bring forth. We’ve seen studies in newspapers or sometimes comical takes of the data on television proving that people will agree or disagree with the same policy based merely upon whose idea they believe it is. We can probably also think of instances of it in our own communities and within the work we do. For example, one of our nonprofit members recently talked to me about this theory and how cognitive dissonance is a major obstacle in their work for economic equity.

Any lawyer will tell you that it’s possible to argue any point, and as my colleague mentioned in his post earlier this week, there are clear arguments for each side of the education debate. But what we often fail to do is take a look at the facts and respect the evidence that they present. We’ve spent three-and-a-half decades since the first charter school law was written tied to our respective viewpoints, bringing forth arguments that ignore or deny the very real facts and subsequently the very real lives that hang in the balance because of it. This is what cognitive dissonance has looked like in education.

While there have been more studies on the theory itself and less about what to do to combat these instances of cognitive dissonance, Dr. John M. Grohol offered some pretty simple advice he borrowed from Socrates: “An unexamined life is not worth living.” We have become so set on being “right” and “winning” that we’ve left little room for folks to allow new evidence to bring about a refreshed and refined perspective. This is unwise.

On Tuesday September 29th, our instincts to protect our ideology at all costs must come second to our shared concern for the well-being of America’s children. I look forward to this month’s debate, and I hope all participants will join in with their hearts set on finding a solution for equitable education for all children in our country, even if that means dealing with our own internal conflict to bring about a worthy resolution.

If you haven’t already, register now to attend this FREE event! You can tune in on the live webcast or attend in person.

Janay Richmond is a field associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Follow @NCRP and @JanayRichmond1 on Twitter and join the #PhilamplifyDebate conversation!

Our friends at the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) hosted a World Café event in June through their Black Male Funders Learning and Action Network (LAN). LAN serves as a convener, connecting foundations actively working to improve Black male outcomes. This network, along with similar groups, shares knowledge, strategies and lessons learned while documenting shifts in grantmakers’ strategies and investments in Black males. Although it’s common to become siloed in our sector, we have to remember that it’s far easier to pull a boat to shore if we’re all strategically pulling in the same direction. ABFE and their co-hosts for this event, the DC Trust and the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, realize that this type of collaboration is key. Presenters at the World Café event included Travis Wise and Guy Anthony from DENIM, Wanda Alston Foundation Executive Director Kenneth Pettigrew, Executive Director of Life Pieces to Masterpieces Selvon Waldron, Bread for the City Executive Director George Jones and Empowering Males of Color in DC Public Schools’ Dr. Robert Simmons.

By moving from one table to the next, participants were able to learn of the great efforts underway at each organization. Dr. Roberts spoke about educational institutions for Black boys in D.C., as well as ways to curb the high suspension rate of black youth. Life Pieces to Masterpieces described their focus on D.C.’s two highest poverty stricken wards using art to help the young men develop emotionally and intellectually. The representative from the Wanda Alston Foundation discussed the housing the foundation provides for LGBTQ youth up to age 24 and the ways they help their youth make plans to live a sustainable life. Travis Wise and Guy Anthony of the Us Helping Us DENIM program detailed their community center programs that serve gay, bisexual, and same gender loving men of color from 18-29. George Jones of Bread for the City discussed the various programs his organization has in place to help those facing homelessness or who have just run into a little bad luck.

In addition to representatives from nonprofits, there were many funders in the room soaking up the passion exuded by these community leaders. By the end of the event, we were all more invested in the work of these organizations and had a clearer sense of how our role, whether it be working directly with those affected or providing funding, connects to the whole.

Following the event was a discussion and call for collaboration within the city. We thank ABFE for their consistent efforts to better the lives of black men and boys, and we salute the funders present to eagerly learn more about the work being done on the ground. Henry Ford once said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”

Is your foundation actively seeking opportunities to learn from those doing the work on the ground? Are you feeding off the passions and expertise of your peers to move together toward success? If you are not already, I encourage you to reach out to other foundations and nonprofits working in similar issue areas. Working together towards success in philanthropy should be the norm and not the exception.

Janay Richmond is a field associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Follow @NCRP and @JanayRichmond1 on Twitter.

Several Fridays ago I first learned that yet another Black man had been killed during a police stop in Baltimore, and I made no immediate effort to learn more of the story. It was a tale I had heard several times over, especially recently, and I suppose because of this it was easy to brush it to the side as I toiled through my daily tasks. The next night, after weekend errands and the premiere of my favorite show, I was finally ready to dive a little deeper into the story. I googled “Freddie Gray”, and as I poured over the Baltimore Sun article detailing the injuries he sustained, along with stills and a video of his arrest, I found myself weeping. If never before, my heart was broken. I couldn’t believe that there was a fellow human being who endured such brutal treatment at the hands of our nation’s protectors.

And while I am not the only person moved to tears by this tragedy, I’m also not the only one skilled at compartmentalizing these ongoing, almost daily occurrences of racism. After all, a few major events went off without a hitch that weekend. During the Orioles game that took place the following week, a fan interviewed by CNN casually mentioned he had to park several levels up in the parking garage to protect his vehicle from the demonstrations in the streets below. The contrast between this baseball fan’s concern for his car and the concern of protesters just outside the stadium’s gates, entangled in a daily fight to defend their lives, is telling of the privileged versus non-privileged racial differentiation that is still prevalent here in America.

Some say that this stark contrast is a product of a capitalistic society, and I suppose just like there’s no crying in baseball, there is no crying in capitalism. Our free market economic system plays an invisible role in our lives, quietly controlling price and production levels through the creation of competition. As we have seen historically through the booming American economy and the creation of the wealthy elite, capitalism spurs great growth, but it also has the ability to cast dark shadows, especially when laced with the overt racism of our past or today’s more subtle implicit biases. And that is why it’s so important that the market-based approach has made its way to philanthropy, etymologically, the love of humanity. When economic, social, political and now philanthropic decisions are based on figures and bottom lines in a world of profits and competitions where only the strong survive, there is little room for fuzzy feelings. And in this scenario where people have marched, voted, peacefully protested, been beaten, tried to get jobs and own homes, were redlined, tried again, tried again, and finally tried again, does the answer for equal opportunity call for our Webster or our Barnhart?

The problem with the market, as noted by Boston University sociologist and author of The New Prophets of Capital Nicole Aschoff, is that it rarely produces an evenly distributed result. This is okay with regards to nonessential luxuries and commodities, but when it concerns issues like “health, education, [and] the ability to have a house,” market-based strategies are divisive and fall short. For those of us who believe that these aspects of life should be rights and not privileges, the natural effects of the market are not enough. The cries of We Shall Overcome and the shouts of Black Lives Matter both have the same underlying question: Who do I have to be for America to love me? Who do I have to be for philanthropists to include me in the “love of humanity?” Isn’t it a disservice to the movement for equality to look for a solution to people’s pain through the privileged, limited results of the market?

The problem with a market-based approach to philanthropy is that it doesn’t seek to address why our well deserving fellow human beings, our brothers and sisters, were left out of the equation in the first place. That’s why it’s important for grantmakers to fund the advocacy work vital to creating lasting change, such as the grassroots groups behind the Black Lives Matter movement. The Movement for Black Lives Convening this weekend in Cleveland is a clear example of how far the movement has come in the past year, and grantmakers who have provided general operating support and funds for advocacy and grassroots work have been a tremendous help. Such support may not make sense from a market-based perspective, but funding advocacy and organizing can provide the answer that many in this country have long been waiting for.

The 2015 version of separate but equal – where we believe we’ve made much progress in dealing with racism, ignoring the very real double standards that exist for education, treatment by police, job and economic opportunities, and the like – is simply not good enough. There is a segment of people in this country exhausted from 150 years fighting every day to be valued, treated with decency, respect and love. We, the lovers of humanity, have to work together to declare this the 12th round of the match. We as a nation are better than what we’ve allowed and settled for. Enough is enough. The time for true equity is now.

Janay Richmond is a field associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Follow @NCRP and @JanayRichmond1 on Twitter.

Reflections on the National Museum of African American History & Culture