Pull Up for Racial Justice: Resources

Updated as of 6/23/20

*Listed in order: Direct Relief, System Change, Petitions, Educational Tools, and Other Resources (alphabetized within section) 

*Organizations that have been over funded, or are no longer accepting donations have been removed.

Direct Relief Funds

Cultural Wellness Center unleashes the power of citizens to heal themselves and to build community in Minneapolis. 

Emergent Fund: Provides rapid response funding to grassroots organizations in communities of color who are facing injustice based on racial, ethnic, religious and other forms of discrimination.

Headwaters Foundation for Justice: The Transformation Fund: The fund will make grants to grassroots organizations that are providing protesters and community members with immediate needs and to groups that are demanding change and holding law enforcement and elected officials accountable.

National Bail Fund Network: Network of 60+ community bail and bond funds across the country. Immediate goal is to quickly release protestors. We recommend you first call your local chapter and ask them about their needs before donating.

Northside Business Support: Fund to support businesses on Minneapolis’ Northside who have been affected by protests. 

North Star Health Collective: A collective that provides healthcare services, resources, and training for protestors and organizers. 

Pimento Relief Fund: Relief Fund for Black businesses in Minnesota without insurance that suffered from damages during protests. 

Systemic Change

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Committed to fighting for and restoring fundamental freedoms and rights.

Black Immigrant Collective: “Amplifies and makes visible the voices of Black immigrants in Minnesota”

Black Lives Matter: Global Organization combating racism, white supremacy, and violence towards Black communities.

Black Table Arts: “Gathering Black communities through the arts, towards better black futures”

Black Visions Collective: Organization dedicated to Black liberation and healing justice. Originated in Minnesota.

Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100): Organization of Black youth activists “creating justice and freedom for all Black people”

Campaign Zero: Police Reform group working on policy change

Communities United Against Police Brutality: Committed to fighting police brutality and abuse of authority by police.

Fair Fight: Advocates for election reform, voter engagement/turnout, and voter education, founded by Stacey Abrams. Donations are not tax deductible.

Know Your Rights Camp: Educational camps/campaign started by Colin Kaepernick to “advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities”.

Minnesota Voice: Nonprofit working towards permanent changes in racial, social and economic justice.

The Movement for Black Lives Matter (M4BL): Umbrella organization that mobilizes and organizes individuals to “influence national and local agendas in the direction of our shared Vision for Black Lives”.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund: Provides legal aid, advocacy, and education for racial justice issues.

Racial Justice Network: “A multi-racial, grassroots organization committed to fighting for racial justice and building bridges across racial, social and economic lines”.

Reclaim the Block: Organizing the Minneapolis community and city council members to defund the police and redistribute that money to other community resources. 

Petitions

·      Justice for Ahmaud Arbery Petition via Colorofchange.org

·      Justice for Breonna Taylor Petition via Change.org

·      Justice for George Floyd Petition via Change.org

·      Justice for George Floyd Petition via Colorofchange.org

·      Petition to Charge the Minneapolis Police involved in the murder of George Floyd via Change.org

·      Petition to Charge the Minneapolis Police involved in the murder of George Floyd via Colorofchange.org

 Educational Tools

“A Call to Funders to Fund the Struggle Against Anti-Black Racism” Article by Funders for LGBTQ Issues staff.

Anti-Racism Educational Resources for White People List of Articles, Books, Children’s Books, Podcasts, Film/TV, etc.

Anti-Racist Reading List Reading list compiled by author, Ibram X. Kendi

Black History Month Library PDFs via Google Drive

Black-Owned Bookstores in the United States Organized by name, state, and on a map

Campaign Zero “Policy Solutions” Page Includes facts, figures, studies, external resource links, etc.

“The Case for Reparations” Article by Ta-Nehisi Coates

“Dear Philanthropy: These Are the Fires of Anti-Black Racism” Article by Will Cordery for the Nonprofit Quarterly 

“11 Things to do Besides Say ‘This Has to Stop’ in the Wake of Police Brutality” Article by Brittany Wong

“15+ Tools and Resources to Challenge Racism” Article by CompassPoint staff members Amy Benson, Michelle Gislason, Maro Guevara, Sujin Lee, and Asha Mehta. Includes Ted Talks, Blogs, Articles, Books, Toolkits, Frameworks etc.

“5 Ways to Start Being a Better Ally for Your Black Coworkers” Article by Courtney Connley

How to be an Antiracist Book by Ibram X. Kendi and Kendi’s personal antiracist reading list is here

“How to Manage When Things Are Not Okay (And Haven’t Been for Centuries)” Article by The Management Center for managers and leaders.

“How Philanthropy Can Help Achieve Racial Justice” Time100 talk/video by Ford Foundation CEO, Darren Walker

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption Book and website by Bryan Stevenson

Know Your Rights Camp: Educational camps/campaign started by Colin Kaepernick to “advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities”

The Marshall Project A nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that reports on the criminal justice system.

Me and White Supremacy Book by Layla F. Saad

“Mom, Why Don’t You Have Any Black Friends?” Article by Michelle Silverthorn on talking to children – and yourself - about race.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness Book by Michelle Alexander

1619 Podcast by the New York Times

So You Want to Talk About Race Book by Ijeoma Oluo

Unicorn Riot: “A decentralized, educational nonprofit media organization of artists and journalists”. Currently reporting on and Live-Streaming protests.

“U.S.  Businesses Must Take Meaningful Action Against Racism” Article by Laura Morgan Roberts and Ella F. Washington

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism Book by Robin Diangelo

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide Book by Carol Anderson

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race Book by Reni Eddo-Lodge (Free in audio-book version from Amazon)

“You do Not Need to be Black to Know that Black Lives Matter” Article by The Communications Network

“Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Okay – Chances Are They’re Not” Article by Danielle Cadet on checking-in on your Black work colleagues

Other

·      PDF of Caucus information via Just Lead Washington: “Caucuses as a Racial Justice Strategy: What We Have Learned” 

·      Google Document of community collective resources/educational tools

·      Google Document of community collective organizations to donate to 

·      Google Document of community collective “National Resource List”

·      Google Document for calling/e-mailing public/state officials

·      Safe Protesting/Protester Information

·      More Resources to Explore 

The Story Behind the Story

At the outset of the pandemic, Washington State bore the brunt of the coronavirus in infection rates and death. As we are now flattening the curve, other states are taking our place and those with a larger percentage of poor residents (especially Black poor) are not only being hit hard, they are being hit worse because of political and social realities. Among the social realities is philanthropy. Along with generally progressive state governments, philanthropy on the west coast has played an outsize role in mitigating the harm imposed by the pandemic. It’s wonderful and I am truly grateful. But I had to ask myself: What about those places that are not home to so many billionaires and their trillion-dollar-valuation companies (Amazon)? How far does philanthropy’s largesse reach when when we need to help ourselves too?

I looked in my own backyard first for answers. Towards the end of March, civic leaders, the Mayor’s Office, and the Seattle Chamber saw the writing on the wall and decided to act quickly. Kirkland, a bedroom community east of Seattle, was the epicenter of the outbreak and the coronavirus was wreaking havoc. They created a fund called All in Seattle and asked everyone in their networks to double down on their support of non-profits and, if they were so inclined, support their newly created fund. Support they did. In a mere two weeks, All in Seattle managed to raise over $30 million dollars for area non-profits.

At the same time, The Seattle Foundation created its COVID-19 Response Fund and it raised another $20 million for community-based organizations. Starbucks founder Howard Schultz and his family foundation announced their initiative, The Plate Fund, which raised $7 million to help restaurant industry workers with basic needs by giving gifts of straight cash. On top of these funds, we have smaller regional community foundations nearby that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. And lastly, this list does not include “specialty funds” like Artist Trusts’ ($550K) and  Seattle Artists Relief Fund ($300K) for artists (gig workers and creatives with no outlet for their choreography, compositions, or paintings).

I am constantly amazed by the incredible generosity and overall engagement of Seattle’s citizenry, but never more than I have been recently. It has been the single most important reason I choose to call this city my adopted hometown. But for those of us who live here, we can be easily deluded into thinking that this is how it is everywhere. As we all know, it’s not. The coronavirus has, as Jeff Bezos has said, “turned over the log” and brought to light what was hidden in the darkness for those who chose not to look. Lurking in the dark spaces is our country’s long-held racial and economic inequities that affect one’s access to healthcare, childcare, justice, and fair wages. New data and an onslaught of news articles are showing how this pandemic is playing out for those with the least. African-Americans, Native-Americans, and the undocumented are all being infected and dying at a rate far beyond their representation in society. So what can philanthropy do?

I co-wrote an article for Giving Compass, the philanthropic knowledge center, with Stephanie Gillis of The Raikes Foundation which attempts to provide an answer to that question. It is right and noble for our instincts to guide us toward directing our giving to the places that we call home. As the adage states, that is where charity begins. But, when we take the time to acknowledge the unique capacity (financial, political, intellectual) of our home to take care of itself, we also acknowledge that we have enough to share with others beyond the confines of our proverbial backyard. This is the premise of the Giving Compass article. It encourages donors who give disaster funding to do two things: to give with a sense of abundance rather than scarcity, and to take advantage of data and information to also give where the need is greatest. It may not be nearby.

A Trio of Books on Philanthropy to Get Your Mind Churning

Looking for thought-proving reading on the current state of philanthropy? Well, there has a been a flood of new books that have, in the words of Jeff Bezos in an entirely different context, “turned over the log” of philanthropy so that we can examine what has been hiding in the dark.

Three important books were published in 2018 that implore us to think critically about the role of philanthropy and wealth in our society. Whether you agree with them or not, you will definitely leave with an opinion and be better informed.

 The first is Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the Worldby Anand Giridharadas. The journalist dismantles the elites of "big philanthropy" and their institutions that maintain the status quo to their extreme advantage. Their giving is palliative rather reparative; in that it refuses to address the root causes of the suffering they’re trying to alleviate because to do so would threaten their position and lifestyle. He speaks with all of the zeal of the converted as an ex-member of the club of thought leaders and pundits who reinforce the notion to the world’s mega-wealthy that their good works is enough, rather than endure the true sacrifice necessary to enforce systemic change. 

 The second is Just Giving: How Philanthropy is Failing Democracy, by Robert Reich (not the former Secretary of Labor of the same name). The philosopher's argument is similar to Giridharadas' in positing that the immense power the very rich hold in philanthropy is inherently undemocratic and erodes the underpinnings of our aspirations toward justice. He goes further to argue that big philanthropy has a big problem with ethics and unfair uses of power by its being unaccountable, nearly perpetual, and hugely tax-advantaged. Reich also suggests ways to use legislation to bring more equity into the philanthropic sector. 

The final book is Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balanceby Edgar Villanueva. If you read his book last, you might think it will be a balm to the previous two books’ searing critiques. While his tone is gentler, he is no less forceful in his arguments on the extreme inequality in philanthropy and society. What is unique here is that Villanueva assesses our current state of affairs through the lens of colonialism. His thoughtful and unique arguments explain his view that finance and philanthropy have not strayed far from its imperialist beginnings. However, unlike Giridharadas and Reich, Villanueva offers Native American-rooted wisdom to help us rebalance and heal from these centuries-old wounds.

 These three authors will no doubt be remembered as the ones who shone a light on philanthropy and encouraged us to be better.