Virtual Workshop: Supporting Black-Led Movements for Safety & Liberation

For centuries, Black-led movement organizing in the United States and globally has played a critical role in shifting the culture, values, practices and laws related to the rights and liberation of not only Black people, but all people. This generational movement work, while initially met with strife, violence and backlash, has led to undeniable social process, from the abolition of slavery to the Civil Rights Movement and now the movement to divest from policing and invest in communities.

In this session, leaders of the Black-Led Movement Fund and the Communities Transforming Policing Fund at Borealis Philanthropy will discuss the vision, strategies and practices they bring to supporting Black-led movement work focused on safety and liberation, as well as lessons from the 2020 uprisings and the 2021 backlash to this critical work.

This session will include historical and political context for the progress and backlash toward Black-led movements that we see today. We will discuss and define concepts like the prison-industrial complex and movement capture. Finally, we will offer funders tools for developing philanthropic strategy when funding racial justice and community safety work.

This will be an interactive session that includes audio visuals, polls, pair shares and small breakout groups for discussion. Please come ready to engage with your peers.

Speakers

• Julia Beatty, Program Director, Black-Led Movement Fund at Borealis Philanthropy
• Jeree Thomas, Program Director, Communities Transforming Policing Fund at Borealis Philanthropy

Accessibility

Automated closed captions will be provided. If you require other accommodations to fully participate in this session, please note it in your registration. We generally need 7-10 business days before a session to fulfill accommodation requests. Please send questions to programs@geofunders.org.