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Spring 2008 |
What Gives? No,WHO Gives?
The greatest challenge in creating long-term solutions to society’s social and economic injustices is the necessary commitment of financial resources. In short, it’s about money. There, we said it. A simple statement of fact that makes many folks with good intentions wince.
21CF's Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund Evaluation and Donor Briefing Video
The end of January was a whirlwind for the Twenty-First Century Foundation, Gulf South Allied Funders (GSAF), and our allies in gathering resources for the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund. The continuing flow of energy and enthusiasm for an equitable and just rebuilding of the Gulf Coast region was on full display.
Building Relationships = Expanding Impact
The Twenty-First Century Foundation is ramping up for our Spring Donor Tour, April 9 –11, 2008. Concerned donors will have a chance to get on the bus with our allies to visit various sites in Louisiana, and to hear firsthand from our grantees about their work. Our next tour will be in the fall; we’ll keep you posted once the dates are determined.
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In the Year 2025...
The 2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys — an initiative incubated by the Twenty-First Century Foundation — held their last national gathering of 2007 in Chicago in December. Based at the Little Black Pearl on the South Side, the two-day gathering was hosted by the Metropolitan Area Group for Igniting Civilization (MAGIC), and the Southwest Youth Collaborative, both 21CF Black Men and Boys Initiative grantees.
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An Open Mic
From time to time we like to offer an opportunity for our diverse pool of allies to share their thoughts on why they have chosen to partner with the Foundation to help foster Black community change. The following is a testimonial from Kimo Campbell, a GSAF donor who shares a story far more eloquent than anything your intrepid reporter could write:
Quick Hits
There is a new website thanks to a small grant 21CF awarded to The Kids Rethink Project at the end of ’07. This is an organization in New Orleans that works on quality education issues and that’s driven by the young people themselves.
Check out what they have to say: www.therethinkers.com
21CF grantee Tracie Washington, of the Louisiana Justice Institute, has agreed to give the 14th Annual Rose Sheinberg Lecture at NYU Law School on April 1st. Ms. Washington is a powerful and passionate advocate who speaks with a clear voice about the struggle for equity in the recovery process on the Gulf Coast. We congratulate her and share the news so people will know that the hard work of the Louisiana Justice Institute is being recognized far and wide.
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| Message From the President |
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2008 has opened the door to tremendous opportunities for the Twenty-First Century Foundation and the people we serve. We have dramatically increased our fundraising and administrative capacities over the past few years, and have added respected businessmen Robert Andrews of New York and Darryl Smith of Houston as new members of our Board of Directors. These new allies will help us in our efforts to cultivate new relationships within a wider circle of powerbrokers and policymakers, which will ultimately make us more effective for our constituents.
When we say that 21CF leads, innovates, and influences giving for Black community change, it really is about finding solutions tailored to the needs of people of color, providing the resources to implement those solutions, and sustaining them over the long term. The Foundation continues its support for those building after Hurricane Katrina, as well as for our Black Men and Boys initiative. These are both matters of tremendous importance, and two areas of our greatest strength as an organization. In January, 21CF held a highly successful Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund program donor briefing in New York. Concurrently, several thousand dollars was raised for the Katrina initiative at a house party hosted by a generous Gulf South Allied Funders (GSAF) ally.
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The Center for Social Inclusion, a project of the Tides Foundation, did a comprehensive report on the policies that govern
the rebuilding process in New Orleans called Race to Rebuild: The Color of Opportunity and the Future of New Orleans.
Race in America — Who Won?
Given the manner in which this subject alternates between the spotlight and the shadows of the current presidential campaign,
we thought we would share two resources. This will continue both here and on our website in the future:
In the year 2000, the New York Times published a series called How Race is Lived in America that shared a variety of
perspectives on the subject. In the post–September 11th world, there are some clear differences in perception among people,
yet race still rules in many ways.
In January 2008, a new website called The Root was launched. This collaborative effort of Dr. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates and the Washington Post is designed to offer a nuanced view of life as lived in this nation using this new media platform to bring new
voices into the discussion.
The NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans
The mass media followed the superstars of the National Basketball Association to New Orleans in February. The following commentary by online columnist Dave Zirin of The Edge of Sports offered a bit more nuanced take than many others in the mainstream of sports coverage, and we thought it worth sharing.
Please give it a read and let us know what you think: " When Paint is Not Enough."
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