To achieve our vision for individuals and communities, grantmakers must work to address the historic, emerging, dynamic and collective forces at work to suppress racial, social and economic injustice. Actively working to use our privilege and position to address inequity is a bedrock of effective grantmaking. In this plenary session, we’ll hear from Nikole Hannah-Jones, a New York Times investigative reporter and 2017 MacArthur Foundation fellow.

In conversation with Jon Funabiki of Renaissance Journalism, she will explore the historical nature of inequitable systems, looking at entrenched patterns of discrimination and reflecting on how policies, practices and politics together can be used to maintain discrimination and segregation and stymie efforts to create equity in our work. We’ll reflect on how our funding practices can either support the status quo or lay the groundwork for authentic, lasting change.