July 2, 2020 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Last summer I spent a day in Chicago moderating a panel on evolution and equity in philanthropy that featured three of the most insightful grant makers I have had the chance to interview — La June Montgomery Tabron, head of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Liz Thompson, president of the Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education, and Julia Stasch, who was about to step down as head of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
After we wrapped up our discussion — which made clear how much work philanthropy still had to do to close gaps in racial and economic equality — several women approached me with an idea for a Chronicle article. They were among the 20 women of color who head foundations in and around Chicago, they told me. And they wanted to share with our readers just how their organizations had achieved a goal that has proven elusive for too much of philanthropy.
I was intrigued so as soon as I got back to our Washington office, I asked Jim Rendon, a senior writer, to go behind the scenes and find out what it took to create real change in a city that has seen its share of racial strife.
My visit with the Chicago CEOs was much on my mind when the protests over George Floyd’s murder began rippling across the nation. I knew I wanted to hear from one of the leaders I’d met that day as soon as possible. Sharon Bush, head of the Grand Victoria Foundation, immediately got to work on an essay in which she made it clear how disappointed she was that so many white leaders had done so little more than issue empty statements.
All grant makers, she said, needed to find ways to work as advocates for Blacks. White leaders, in particular, she said, must do more to amplify the voices and ideas of leaders of color — and to “explicitly practice racial equity, share power and privilege, and demand justice.”
Sharon’s words echo throughout the articles in these pages — not just our cover report but also Maria Di Mento’s article on fundraiser stress, where you’ll learn how fundraisers of color are coping with an abundance of loss and grief at the same time their organizations are counting on them to raise enough money to meet growing demands. And you’ll see those themes in opinion articles from Leslie Crutchfield, Frances Kunreuther, Sean Thomas-Breitfeld, and Benjamin Soskis.
As happens so often these days, when we started reporting the cover articles for this issue, the world was very different.
We knew the pandemic and recession were already putting stress on efforts to advance racial justice so that’s why we decided it was important to pursue this for our cover report.
By the time we wrapped up our work, it wasn’t just the nonprofit world but every part of our society that was facing a renewed call to end the systems and structures that allow racism to persist. In our news articles, opinion essays, online forums, and other settings we will keep a close eye on what happens next — and provide you the knowledge and insights you need to lead in this crucial moment in America’s history.
— Stacy Palmer, Editor
