In america, Donald Trump’s 2016 election introduced elevated consideration to the ultra-right’s makes an attempt in america to realize—and generally steal—political energy. These efforts haven’t occurred in a vacuum. They’re a part of broader efforts throughout the Americas to stifle political progress.
Take, as an example, the Tea Occasion motion, which began gaining momentum in 2009 in america as a backlash to insurance policies put forth by former President Obama. Round that very same time, a conservative wave was shaping up in Latin America in direct response to earlier durations of progressive management and insurance policies. Because the 2024 election approaches amid ongoing makes an attempt to push again towards progressive insurance policies, advocates throughout the Americas are working to construct intercontinental solidarity.
This effort led to a historic convening in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which introduced collectively executives from 35 foundations and organizations from america and the Caribbean that work to advance racial fairness. The 2-day occasion, The Impression of International Racism within the Americas: A Racial Fairness Builders Dialogue, happened on February 21 and 22. Organizers of the convening sought to reply a key query: How will philanthropy’s agenda in 2024 replicate the efforts to stem world racism in america, the Caribbean, and Latin America?
Because the 2024 election approaches amid ongoing makes an attempt to push again towards progressive insurance policies, advocates throughout the Americas are working to construct intercontinental solidarity.
Among the many audio system on the convening have been Dr. Epsy Campbell Barr, the primary girl of African descent to function vp in Costa Rica and Latin America; Angela Glover Blackwell, the Founder in Residence at PolicyLink, a company that works to advance racial and financial fairness for all individuals; and Vivian I. Neptune Rivera, the primary girl to function dean of the College of Puerto Rico.
A number of representatives from sponsoring organizations additionally attended, together with Casey Household Packages, the San Francisco Basis, the W.Ok. Kellogg Basis, the MacArthur Basis, and The California Endowment.
The Push for Intercontinental Solidarity
In holding these conversations round combating world racism and constructing racial fairness, the organizers sought to broaden on the Sixties Civil Rights motion, which put a global highlight on the influence of White supremacy in america however was primarily considered by a Black and White lens. In an announcement issued by the organizers, they outlined their targets for the convening:
As demographics have modified, we now have come to grasp that the methods and constructions that raise white supremacy are efficient at suppressing immigrants, Afro Latine, girls, and lots of others. Individuals of African descent have the chance to reframe the narrative to embody the entire Americas, bridge our histories, and heal the pervasive different of Afro descendants.The convening additionally included conversations on subjects like “International Racism and the Intersecting Inequalities Throughout the Americas,” “The Position of Black Leaders as Brokers of Change,” and “The Case for Reparations.”
Main as much as the occasion, NPQ spoke with Nelson Colón, an institutional associate for the convening and the president and CEO of the Puerto Rico Neighborhood Basis. This philanthropic group has collaborated with donors and communities for over 38 years and is the one group in Puerto Rico with racial fairness as considered one of its pillars. Since its founding, the group has invested greater than $80 million into organizations and people. Extra lately, the group has led efforts to assist communities grow to be extra self-sustaining by funding aqueducts and solar energy. (NPQ wrote about this in 2018)
“As demographics have modified, we now have come to grasp that the methods and constructions that raise white supremacy are efficient at suppressing immigrants, Afro Latine, girls, and lots of others.”
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As NPQ beforehand famous, the Puerto Rican Neighborhood Basis’s work towards racial fairness entails investing in six types of neighborhood capital: human, social, monetary, bodily, cultural, and ecological. The group believes that for racial fairness to manifest it’s crucial to work towards neighborhood possession and sustainability.
In the course of the convening Colón led a dialog alongside Susan Taylor Batten that centered on alternatives for philanthropists to strengthen racial fairness. Batten is the president and CEO of the Affiliation of Black Basis Executives (ABFE)—a membership philanthropic group that advocates for responsive and transformative investments in Black communities.
Colón shared his takeaways from the dialog. First, he famous that significantly given the interconnection within the Americas as a result of African diaspora, philanthropic organizations centered on racial fairness have the potential to function a bridge between organizations in Latin America and america. Secondly, it’s crucial for philanthropic teams to come back collectively to strengthen teams to have safety towards White supremacy. Lastly, there must be a improvement of leaders to work in a multiracial democracy.
Colón cited mounting threats by the ultra-right in nations like Argentina, which lately elected a far-right president who threatened to roll again positive aspects on points like abortion rights; Peru, the place the nation’s president took workplace in 2022 after a right-wing coalition overthrew and imprisoned the previous socialist president; and america, the place a present presidential candidate and former president engaged in efforts to overturn the outcomes of the final presidential election.
Philanthropic organizations centered on racial fairness have the potential to function a bridge between organizations in Latin America and america.
As an alternative of being dismayed by the precarious state of democracies throughout the Americas, Colón believes these efforts current a chance for intercontinental solidarity and for philanthropists fascinated by constructing racial fairness to work with communities to assist them grow to be extra self-sustaining. He even envisions the creation of a standard fund—a funding base for sustainability.
As Colón and different philanthropists centered on racial fairness proceed to consider methods to work collectively, they’re certain that the convening in Puerto Rico is barely the start. Colón says he envisions a yearly convening the place progressive concepts can emerge. As a follow-up, the leaders are contemplating a studying tour the place they are going to go to a number of nations to study their racial fairness methods.
“There’s the data, the assets, the need to create that platform of collaboration and the aim is to maintain racial fairness networks within the area,” he mentioned.