Brave Enough To Be It
By Felicia Davis, President & CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women
Last month marked my second anniversary at the helm of Chicago Foundation for Women. It also marked one year after the horrific murder of George Floyd and the subsequent national reckoning with racism. One year ago, I sat in my home office during Chicago’s COVID-19 lockdown, and I recorded a personal video diary. The video speaks to the personal and profound impact the tragic events had on me. I was hurting, not only for my own Black sons, but for all the Black youth and their families who were left wondering how to move forward, how to address the history and lasting legacy of persistent, and evolving pain and trauma from anti-Black racism. I vowed to continue to work tirelessly to dismantle the racist, unjust structures and systems that continue to allow the lives of Black sons, like my own, to have no value. To support the millions of people who took to the streets, risking their comfort to peacefully protest and scream out NO MORE. To peacefully make their own voices and supplications heard and offer another pained plea to the world asking for the end of hatred and the true fulfillment of the dreams of dignity, justice, and equity for all.
During this past year, I have been angry, numbed by pain, and paralyzed by fear, but I have also had moments filled with joy and hope. To witness Kamala Harris being sworn in as Vice President of the United States. To hear Amanda Gorman provide us a roadmap, “If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change, our children’s birthright.” I’ve celebrated the record-breaking number of women sworn into Congress — including a historic number of Women of Color. I also received the COVID-19 vaccine and, recently, shared Mother’s Day Brunch with my mother and my children, the first time all of us have been allowed to be together in nearly a year.
The past year’s difficulties have only renewed my commitment to dismantling the systems of oppression and systemic racism. As President and CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women, I have the opportunity to lead our team in thinking differently about our work and our impact. One way we are doing just that is looking across our spending and investments, and being intentional about supporting women and minority-owned businesses. A recent Crain’s Chicago Business article notes that according to a 2017 study commissioned by the Knight Foundation, despite no differences in performance between diverse firms and their white counterparts, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color* (BIPOC) and women-owned firms represent only 1.1 percent of the industry’s total $71.4 trillion in assets under management. What would be the impact of foundations committed to shifting their endowment assets to diverse asset managers? It would mean helping BIPOC and women-owned firms reach their full potential and not be constrained by the limitations of fear and misinformation.
Furthermore, I call on the philanthropic sector not to go back to the way grantmaking took place pre-COVID-19. Many foundations moved swiftly to provide increased grantmaking for general operating instead of programmatic support, changing reporting structures and mechanisms to accommodate nonprofit organizations’ immediate needs. These changes need to be implemented moving forward in order to ensure these organizations continue to serve the communities most in need. Providing increased funding is just one way foundations can support the sustainability of nonprofit organizations. Providing capacity building and leadership development support also ensures nonprofit leaders have the training and wherewithal to weather any storm.
The philanthropic response to the crises we’ve experienced during the last year has been extraordinary. In this role, I have the distinct opportunity to work with committed groups of leaders, locally, nationally, and internationally, that believe as I do — when we invest in womxn* and girls, we invest in all of us. We build stronger, healthier, more vibrant communities. At this moment, I am called — WE are called — to speak out, seek understanding, and pursue mercy and justice. I ask that you join me and Chicago Foundation for Women and our partners by actively speaking out against racism and injustice. WE ask for your solidarity in fighting systems of gender inequity and explicitly calling for an end to the intersectional, destructive, and divisive systems of racism and oppression. As we know, achieving gender equity will not happen without achieving racial equity.
Harkening to another part of Amanda Gorman’s poem, “For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” Be Bold. Be Brave. Join us in this Fight.
*Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) is a term used to center the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color utilizing people-first language. The term Indigenous is inclusive of people who identify as American Indians or Native Americans, First Nations, Native Alaskans or Alaska Natives. The term People of Color is inclusive of people who don’t identify as white.
*Womxn is an alternative spelling of women, inclusive of women, girls, trans, and gender nonbinary individuals.
A version of this article was originally published as part of Chicago Foundation for Women’s “GoWomen” Monthly Newsletter which you can read here.
