21/64 is commemorating Juneteenth. Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, commemorates the legal liberation of enslaved Black Americans in the United States. On June 19, 1865 — over 2 years after President Lincoln’s declaration of freedom for all enslaved individuals — Major General Gordon Granger and Union Army troops marched to Galveston, Texas, proclaiming the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved Black Americans in Texas. This day serves as a reminder that the fight for freedom and racial equality has been a long and challenging struggle for Black Americans, one that continues to this day.
Juneteenth is not only a time for celebration but also an opportunity for education, amplifying voices, and reflecting on the stories, sacrifices, and resilience of Black Americans throughout history. It acts to underscore the ongoing journey towards equity, justice, and freedom for all.As an organization that espouses aligning values with decision-making, along with our commitment towards racial justice, 21/64 is closing our office to take the time to continue reflecting, learning and educating ourselves. As I pause to reflect, I thought I’d share some of the reflection questions I’ll be journaling about on this Juneteenth.
- Who are the people that embody values of justice, liberation and joy in my life? What in their stories inspires the legacy I strive to live and to leave?
- What are the connections between Black emancipation and my own freedom?
- How am I choosing (now and in the future) to cultivate justice, liberation, and joy for Black-Americans across my relationships, philanthropy and work?
We hope that you will join us on our learning journey by exploring the resources below, including many excellent recommendations from Audrey Jacobs, Jason Terrell, Keith Beverly and Andine Sutarjadi. I welcome you to join me by sharing your thoughts on the above as well as any questions you are reflecting on with me here. Or if you’re in the 21/64 Collective feel free to post questions and ideas to 21/64 Connect.
Commemorating Juneteenth Resources
- Join
- Black Philanthropy Month, founded in 2001 by Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland, is a month-long global celebration and concerted campaign to elevate African-descent giving and funding equity and will offer a variety of programming and learning experiences throughout August 2022.
- Southern California Grantmakers Liberation: A Festival of Arts & Culture Honoring Juneteenth will be a virtual experience open to the public and showcasing eight Black musicians, dances, rappers, and poets creating works on the themes of Black joy, expression, and excellence.
- Facilitate
- Inspire the next generation of antiracist activists in your community by stimulating conversations on race using Flying Elephant’s How to Start Talking About Race Card Deck. Each deck includes thought-provoking cards that help to unpack the thoughts, questions and feelings on topics related to race and privilege.
- Healing Circle’s question cards each include a prompt that is designed to support you and those in your community have discussions on antiracism.
- Watch
- Chef and writer Stephen Satterfield traces the history and journey of Black food in High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. Moving from Africa to Texas and blending a cross section of stories that address land and ownership, preservation and innovation, this docuseries is an energetic and deeply nuanced celebration of Black people and their food.
- Ava Duvernay’s 13TH explores the intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States. Titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the movie contends that slavery has been perpetuated through criminalizing behavior which disproportionately affects the Black community.
- Raoul Peck’s, Exterminate All the Brutes examines the foundation of American white supremacy. The docuseries explores the reconciling America’s true history with its ideals of freedom and democracy, pointing to the struggle for representation and the legacy of slavery in institutionalized racism today.
- This four-part series on Reconstruction: America After the Civil War explores the transformative years of the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77). This period witnessed millions of former slaves and free Black people strive for their rightful place as equal citizens under the law.
- Listen
- Parenting for Liberation hosted by Tricia Greene Brown offers a podcast and virtual community rooted in an Afro-futuristic vision of a world where black parents are in community with each other to raise black children without fear and instead parent for liberation.
- A conversation with Cheryl Dorsey, President of Echoing Green and Jeff Bradach, Managing Partner of The Bridgespan Group on Overcoming Racial Bias in Philanthropic Funding centers on the barriers that leaders of color encounter in the field and examples of philanthropists who have put racial equity at the center of their work.
- 1619 Podcast explores how slavery has transformed America. As part of this country’s first big business, learn how the institution of slavery turned a once fledgling nation into a financial powerhouse which formed the foundation of American capitalism.
- Read
- Madam C. J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving: Black Women’s Philanthropy during Jim Crow explores new dimensions of Walker as a philanthropist and as an educator and offers a more inclusive and meaningful analysis of black philanthropy a feature, rather than a footnote, of American philanthropy.
- Shifting Philanthropy from Charity to Justice by Dorian O. Burton & Brian C.B. Barnes raises critical questions funders and donors must ask themselves and suggests a new framework for giving to address America’s economic, social, and political inequalities.
- Edgar Villanueva’s book, Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, discusses the underpinnings of resources that fund philanthropy. Check out his Money is Medicine Guided Journal for a deeper dive on how to use resources for healing and wholeness by reflecting on our relationship to money and racial justice.
- Gasby Brown’s OpEd on philanthropy in the African American Community features a study by U.S. Trust and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The piece highlights that not only do African-American households give more than 25% of their discretionary income to charitable causes compared to other demographics, but they are also more likely to encourage their next generation to get involved in charitable causes and giving campaigns.
- The Color of Money by Mehrsa Badaran examines the relationship between wealth inequality and racial discrimination. Badaran explores the many ways African Americans were locked out of the financial engines that create wealth in America and how current financial structures have played a role in maintaining racial inequalities in the U.S.
- Ibram X. Kendi’s book, How to Be an Antiracist continues to reenergize conversations about racial justice in America and points us towards new ways of thinking about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.
- The Color of Law by Richard Rostein uses research and storytelling to uncover how the U.S. government and justice system upheld racist policies which gave rise and reinforced neighborhood segregation.
- In the report Priorities and Challenges: Wealth Management Among Affluent African-American Families, Fenaba R. Addo, Ph.D. and Keith Beverly, CFA, CFP, MBA introduce a long overdue conversation related to the complexity of wealth maintenance and generation for marginalized affluent Black families. The research explores how the pandemic exposed pre-existing racial inequities within our society as well as surfaces opportunities to reset and imagine new and improved pathways forward.
- Support
- Giving Gap exists to advance racial equity in giving and mobilize positive action for Black lives by connecting people to causes they care about. Through its online donor platform and other initiatives, Giving Gap is building the movement for the equitable funding of Black-founded nonprofits.
- Black Girl Freedom Fund is making tremendous strides and contributions through its #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign, which invites us to imagine what 2030 can look like if we invest $1 billion in Black girls and young women over the next 10 years.
- Birthright AFRICA inspires youth and young adults of African descent ages 13 – 30 with heritage-based leadership programs to explore their cultural roots and legacy of innovation within the United States and Africa as a birthright.
- The Black Man Project creates safe spaces for young Black men to engage in dialogue that grants space that nurtures their healing, wholeness, leadership, accountability, and brotherhood.
*These resources were posted on June 15, 2022.