Solidarity and Self-Determination
“So, it begs the question around the way in which we think about how philanthropy gets done in a charitable sense in this country, and that it doesn't foster the kind of solidarity and self-determination of communities, to alleviate all of the issues that people are spending their time writing applications for. And so with that I think the [#DisruptPhilanthropyNOW!] blog tries to create an opportunity to have grantees and also have program staff interrogate the ways that philanthropy is being practiced, and then create spaces for accountability in real time.”
Allen Kwabena Frimpong, Senior Fellow at PolicyLink, Co-Founder of Liberation Ventures & Co-Founder of ZEAL
#DisruptPhilanthropyNOW!
We can no longer protect our own resources by being silent when we know one of our funder’s unjust practices have devastating effects on other organizations or in the communities where we work. For us working to dismantle the system of white supremacy and structural racism, disrupting the philanthropic sector must be part of work. We need to stand in solidarity. We must disrupt inequitable practices and transform the philanthropic sector by transforming it, so we collectively end racism within our lifetime.
If we are working for racial justice and ending white supremacy, then we must organize together with our philanthropic co-conspirators to disrupt the status quo of how philanthropy reinforces and maintains systems of oppression and white supremacy through our stories and demands for accountability.
We look forward to hearing from Truth-Tellers!
Once a week, for the next 3 weeks, we will be sharing information about #DisruptPhilanthropyNOW! and encouraging people & organizations to share their stories through writing and video (including anonymously). We can support you by providing a thought partner and/or editor.
In September we look forward to sharing a series of stories.