Foundations of Racial Equity

The Foundations of Racial Equity (FRE) series provides training for philanthropic practitioners to understand how anti-Black racism and white supremacy influence the field of the practice of philanthropy and provides opportunities for action in your organizations.

Join GEO, Northern California Grantmakers and Philanthropy California in this six part series.

About

Anti-Black racism and white supremacy are embedded in philanthropy and in our institutions, often invisible to the majority of us, even as we work with intention towards equity and justice. As change agents within philanthropy, we are stretching to become our best selves, rise to the moment, and progress toward racial equity.

In order to undo systems of oppression, we need to understand the foundations of systemic anti-Black racism and white supremacy in our country. We are all living in a culture that centers on whiteness as the standard mode of operation, fallaciously claiming that proximity to whiteness, and away from Blackness, is the measure of humanity.

Each of us can understand the role we have to play in our fight towards racial equity and justice by centering systemic anti-Black racism within an intersectional framework through which we understand the social, economic, historical, and cultural dimensions of human life.

We cannot shift systems or our organizations without understanding how we got here, nor without looking at ourselves, at our relationships, and at our organizations themselves. The guiding purpose this series is to provide training for philanthropic practitioners to understand how anti-Black racism and white supremacy influence the field of philanthropy and our practices and to provide opportunities for action in your organizations based on what you learn here.

Target Audience

All are welcome here, advocates and aspirants alike; Foundations of Racial Equity is a space for guidance and fellowship on the path to racial justice. Wherever you are on your journey, we invite you to consider whether this entire series or individual sessions within it, will support you in making progress on your anti-racism journey.

We acknowledge and recognize that members exist on a spectrum. Some are already well along in their racial equity journey, and others are just beginning. In this training series, we’ll provide participants with opportunities to explore the foundations of racial equity, and the ways systemic anti-Black racism most commonly plays out in philanthropy.

You should join this series if:

• You are beginning your learning journey with your awareness of the impacts of systemic anti-Black racism and white supremacy in institutional philanthropy.
• You want to bolster your anti-racism efforts with content that gives you a foundational and holistic understanding of how racism shows up in philanthropy, and how to make progress towards racial equity in your institution.
• Your foundation does not squarely see racial equity as your target work but understands its importance.
• You want to act on racial equity and don’t know where to start.

Please note that all functional areas within organizations are welcome, including full teams and trustees.