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July marks National Black Family Month, a time to honor the resilience, strength, and rich cultural heritage of Black families. Established in 2006, this month promotes education, health, and self-improvement while fostering deeper connections and support within the community. As we celebrate, we must also recognize the systemic challenges Black families face, including economic disparities, housing discrimination, systemic racism, and unconscious biases. Addressing these issues is essential for building a just and equitable society. Black families often encounter under-resourced schools, employment discrimination, and persistent wage gaps. Housing discrimination, rooted in historical redlining policies, continues to impact access to quality housing and healthcare. These challenges highlight the urgent need for collective action and systemic change. At Silicon Valley Community Foundation, we are committed to advocating for policies that reduce education gaps, combat employment discrimination, and ensure access to quality healthcare and housing. We believe that supporting Black families in their journey towards equality strengthens our entire community. In honor of National Black Family Month, we encourage you to support the California Black Freedom Fund, an initiative dedicated to securing, protecting, and advancing the rights of Black communities across California. Your support can help amplify efforts to dismantle systemic barriers and promote economic and social equity for Black families. ➡ https://lnkd.in/dQMfngk #BlackFamilyMonth #EconomicDisparities #HousingDiscrimination #SystemicRacism #UnconsciousBiases

Luminate is providing a $1.25 million grant to the Black Feminist Fund (BFF) to support their vital work in resourcing Black feminist movements globally, especially in Africa and Latin America. The work of autonomous feminist movements is a key factor in creating lasting change – not only on issues that directly affect women and girls, but also in deep structural changes that transform societies. Black women are necessary leaders at mobilising and sustaining grassroots movements on issues from climate justice to safety and peace to digital rights. Yet, Black women and gender expansive people are the least likely to receive the financial support to sustain their work. In order to address this gap, BFF emerged from a decade of organising by Black feminists across the globe, imagining a vehicle to remove one of their steepest barriers: funding the work. Learn more at blackfeministfund.org.

NEW RESEARCH STUDY 📚👩🏽💻 📖 As Black mothers raising our kids in predominantly White towns in the Northeast, we have experienced, first-hand, the challenges of finding supportive and justice-oriented educational environments for our Black children. Through informal conversations with other Black mothers, it became clear that there are larger patterns worth exploring about the racial justice advocacy & emotional work Black mothers do to ensure our children's socio-emotional & academic success, particularly within private, predominately White pre-K-6 schools. In our efforts to shed light on these patterns and offer suggestions for structural interventions, we would love to hear from you! - Dr. Kristie A. Ford and Dr. Jallicia Jolly

New publication! In September 2021, the Equity Research Action Coalition, in partnership with the National Black Child Development Institute and POINTS of ACCESS, LLC, collaborated in creating the Black Child National Agenda to challenge the negative and stereotypical narrative of Black children, families, and communities and to identify 10 priorities to dismantle structural racism and systemic inequities that get in the way of Black children’s ability to thrive and excel. This report advances the Black Child National Agenda by examining major policies and programs in the United States that impact the lives of Black children and families based on the access, experiences, and outcomes framework. Find the report: https://go.unc.edu/j4QYo #RacialEquity #PublicPolicy #Research

We’re talking about the Black Funding Principles again! It's time to dismantle the barriers rooted in anti-Black racist biases. 🚫 Principle 4 advocates for a fundamental shift by urging funders to trust Black innovators and entrepreneurs, ensuring equal opportunities for funding. As philanthropic advisors, we view this principle as an essential step toward dismantling historical inequities and fostering genuine racial justice in funding. 💡 👀 To integrate this principle into philanthropic practices, funders must actively challenge biases and stereotypes. It's about recognizing and dismantling the systemic hurdles that have hindered equitable funding for Black innovators. By trusting in their competence and potential, we pave the way for fair funding and, consequently, genuine equity and racial justice. 🌍 This call for trust is a pivotal move toward reshaping the narrative and dynamics of funding. Let's embody this principle in our actions, creating a future where trust is the cornerstone of fair and just funding for Black communities. #philanthropy #trust #opportunity

A Time for Focus and Solidarity (A question and statement) This picture truly captures my feelings today. It took me seven days after the election to truly grasp and articulate my feelings and what was next for my family and me. As we process the results of the 2024 election, a spectrum of emotions is felt across our networks—frustration, concern, and deep uncertainty about the future. This moment calls for careful reflection and a dedicated path forward. In the next four years, my focus will be on nurturing, empowering, and strategically engaging Black women. We've often found ourselves at the forefront, advocating for changes that benefit broader society. While this role is significant, it’s essential for us to prioritize our healing and empowerment. Our path includes: Healing and Self-care: It’s time to prioritize our well-being, to rest, and to heal. Our strength is renewed in our moments of rest. Educational Empowerment in Local Politics and Civics: Understanding the systems that govern us empowers us to make informed decisions and effect meaningful change. Kimberly Bozeman, SHRM-SCP, PHR, I am tapping you in here to start the conversation! Financial Independence: Building our financial security enables us to make choices freely, reinforcing our autonomy and resilience. This focus does not mean turning away from the struggles of women of color or dismissing the valuable alliances with white women. On the contrary, it's a call to action for all allies to step forward and share in the responsibility of advocacy and change. By supporting Black women's healing, we are building a stronger foundation for collective action and support. Let's dialogue: How can we, as a diverse and interconnected community, support one another while prioritizing the needs of those most affected in our current social climate?

Dr. Jonathan Butler, the newly appointed President of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP, represents a pivotal moment in the organization’s history. As the incoming leader, Dr. Butler brings a dynamic perspective to one of the most storied institutions advocating for civil rights, social justice, and racial equality. His tenure marks a commitment to bridging generational gaps, and ensuring the NAACP remains a vital force for progress in the face of modern challenges. Under Dr. Butler’s leadership, the San Francisco NAACP chapter is poised to address systemic inequalities with renewed energy, focusing on education, housing, criminal justice reform, and economic empowerment. His impact is rooted in a lifelong dedication to community advocacy, and his ability to galvanize diverse groups for collective action. However, for the NAACP to sustain its legacy and continue as a beacon of change, it is imperative to engage younger San Francisco Black leaders and activists. Membership among younger generations is not only essential to invigorating the organization with fresh ideas and strategies, but also to ensure the lessons of the past are carried forward to meet the demands of the future. The need for younger Black membership is urgent. In a time where social media activism often dominates the conversation, Dr. Butler emphasizes the importance of grassroots organizing, civic engagement, and the power of collective action: hallmarks of the NAACP's historic victories. By joining the NAACP, young people have the opportunity to shape the policies that directly impact their lives, connect with a legacy of trailblazers who have paved the way, and become part of a movement that is as relevant today as it was at its inception. The vision is clear: the San Francisco NAACP must be a space where young voices are not only heard, but empowered to lead. Together, we can ensure the NAACP remains a cornerstone of progress for generations to come. Now is the time for young San Francisco Black leaders to answer the call, honor the legacy, and build a brighter future through active membership and participation. https://lnkd.in/g3fRTssv https://sfnaacpyouth.com/ https://lnkd.in/gxDEv9DD

Dr. Carey Yazeed is a behavioral scientist who specializes in psychological safety in the workplace. "To understand vulnerability one has to fully grasp the concept of psychological safety, a phrase coined by Amy Edmondson of Harvard University. Edmondson shares that psychological safety occurs when there is an absence of interpersonal fear and individuals can show up as their authentic self. 'It is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes,' (Helbig and Norman, 2023).... "After carefully examining the work of Brene Brown from the lens of a researcher, I discovered a significant gap in her work – race. Although her research is marketed to everyone, it is limited when examining the lived experiences of minority women, which is reflective in the demographics of her participants. As I mentioned earlier, the life challenges that minority women encounter, differs from those of many white men and women when it comes to vulnerability and that is relevant and can not be dismissed." -- From Dr Carey Yazeed's article "Black Women and Vulnerability: What Brene Brown Got Wrong" April 5, 2023 https://lnkd.in/gfVTv2eV The rare and disabled world needs to be aware of Dr. Yazeed's work to establish the meaning behind our hashtag #EquityForRare as she includes all ethnicities and races, genders, sexualities, classes, abilities, religions, sizes, and ages in her social work. Check out her recent post and article referenced above, below: