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Pressing Forward: Insights from VPP+Raise DC’s Anti-Racism Journey

Pressing Forward: Insights from VPP+Raise DC’s Anti-Racism Journey
Author:
Carol Thompson Cole
Date:
February 23, 2023

Across our nation, organizations and corporations are grappling with how to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion in their work and organizational culture. Following the national uprisings after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, more and more organizations turned their eyes to anti-racism, an effort to actively oppose racism by advocating for changes in political, economic, and social life. At VPP+Raise DC, anti-racism has always been at the heart of our work and our organization. As a Black-woman-led nonprofit with a majority Black staff and a diverse Board of Directors, we have always believed that anti-racism must be a foundational component of who we are and how we work. We explicitly name racial equity as a goal of our work because we know it is necessary to creating true systems change in our region. Without naming and addressing structural racism, we cannot make meaningful progress on key outcomes that shape young people’s lives.

Each day, we strive to break down the long-standing and deeply-rooted racial inequities that face young people in the Greater Washington region. While we seek to improve outcomes for all young people in this region, our work centers children and youth who are most marginalized. Our focus on boys and young men of color is a direct response to data that shows that they consistently face disproportionate adverse outcomes across almost all measures of long-term success. Moving the needle for Black and Brown students in our region by dismantling the structural barriers in their path is a core tenant of who we are.

But we know there is more we can do internally and externally to address structural inequity. And we are committed to tackling racial inequity in our community and the unconscious bias that exists in each of us. And that is why we engaged with Courageous Conversation in 2022, which supports organizations in addressing racism head on. Their team created space for our staff and board to have real conversations about our lived experiences, how to be better allies, and how to take our racial equity work to the next level.

As we continue this work, we have been fortunate to learn a thing or two about how to move forward on this journey effectively. As we close out celebrating Black History Month, hear from VPP+Raise DC President and CEO Carol Thompson Cole and Capital One’s Chief Procurement Officer and VPP+Raise DC Board Member Clint Grimes on key takeaways from VPP’s anti-racism journey.

Anti-racism can’t just be a buzzword. It must be at the foundation of your work, particularly in philanthropy.

Grimes: I think, too often, we see organizations latch onto the moment. But that is short-lived and there is no real movement forward. But I think focusing and outlining an authentic anti-racist journey, like VPP+Raise DC has, emphasizes that this can’t be a moment, particularly in philanthropy. It must be a priority. And VPP+Raise DC’s conversations on this topic drove home the notion that, as individuals working in this space, it is not enough to only provide access and opportunities or fill a need in the community. If the structural barriers and counter currents that make someone’s journey harder and more energy intensive than the next person, you have not done enough. You must also change the current.

Thompson Cole: That changing of the current is the systems change work we do each day at VPP+Raise DC. And a focused anti-racism journey has allowed us to have tough conversations about what barriers exist and what people we need to bring to the table across sectors to break them down. When I think about our work in DC with our Boys and Young Men of Color Collaborative Action Network, that is exactly what we are doing. We are bringing together government officials, community partners and advocates, non-profits, and more to discuss what systems change needs to happen within the district to improve outcomes for our children. Because the hope is that our work is not just helping students today, but it is creating better outcomes for the next generation as well.

Take your board along with you.

Grimes: One critical thing VPP+Raise did was engage the board and take us on the journey with staff.  That was extremely unique, and I applaud them for including us in a meaningful way. Our trainings with Courageous Conversation created an opportunity for the Board as a collective to put a finer point on the importance of VPP+Raise DC’s systems-level work across the region. It also gave us the space to have those uncomfortable conversations and, for many of us on the board and staff, share our lived experiences and how racism shaped our lives.  To be able to share that insight with our peers and talk about that in context of the work we do here was extremely powerful.

Thompson Cole: For us, our board is a critical component of how we work and operate. Including them in our Courageous Conversation trainings and in this journey was a must. We want their buy in as advisors, but we also want them to understand the importance of anti-racism to how we all individually show up to do the work. And that is important for them to realize as well as they provide counsel and strategic oversight to our work. It is not enough just for the staff to apply an anti-racism lens to the work we do, everyone involved in our investment process and work has to as well. And that was extremely authentic to us as well because we believe you go farther by bringing all the voices to the table and working together. That theory, which we apply to our collaborative action work, also applies to our anti-racism journey.

Be in it for the long haul.

Grimes: As a business-minded person, I know we often tend to think in quarterly data and analytics, in these specific short-term spans of time. But with VPP+Raise DC, the time horizon for our work is long. So is the time horizon for tackling systemic racism. And if you are going to do this work and engage in it, you must be ready to lean into that. You must be dedicated and understand that progress could be slow and there might not be immediate solutions. And that can be daunting and uncomfortable, but it is a key piece of the work.

Thompson Cole: This one is extremely important because we know our work takes a lot of time to see progression. And starting this journey means being willing to dedicate staff resources, money, and time to it for the long haul – not just one year. Each year, we plan to iterate on our journey and grow to the next level. But we understand that there is no “end point” where we have completed the journey and we can stop. This process is one of constant movement, learning, and improvement. As our societal understanding of racism and its effect on communities continues to evolve, our work must as well. As some grow more dismissive and hostile to conversations of racial equity across our country, we must fight back harder and be more vocal. And I think that can be the hard part for many, realizing that you have to keep at it and chipping away at it bit by bit. As Clint said, it is slow and that is daunting. But that is anti-racism. That is the work and you have to be committed for the long haul.

Author Ijeoma Oluo wrote, “Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it’s the only way forward.”

We know there is still much work to be done and we are excited to continue growing and innovating to improve systems for young people of color in our community. Our journey will continue in the coming year with an intentional focus on three components: examining our individual bias, values, and lived experiences to continue understanding how we show up and do our work; engaging with our stakeholders and leadership to continue innovating in our work and partnerships; and continuing to examine and iterate on how anti-racism guides our work, goals, partnerships, and investments in the field. This will ensure that we are moving effectively and authentically toward our goals. And our data-driven approach to our work will be our barometer that our efforts are working. Wherever you are on your anti-racism journey, it is necessary and important work. And we will continue to share our insights and work with all of you as our journey continues.

 

Carol Thompson Cole
Author
Carol Thompson Cole