Headwaters Foundation for Justice, Wealth for the Common Good, and Growth and Justice co-hosted the latest installment of the Movement Building Series. Trista Harris, Headwaters Foundation’s Executive Director, began the event by shattering the idealistic image many Minnesotans have of our state, where African-Americans are three times more likely to be unemployed than their white counterparts and the state’s standing on key indicators of economic performance and quality of life is declining.. This level of inequality is “bad for business” as Dane Smith, President of Growth and Justice put it.
When discussing the current economic climate, taxes are often a central part of the discussion. Outreach Director for Wealth of the Common Good, Ann Manning, suggests a return to higher marginal tax rates. Shifts such as these coupled with the elimination of tax havens would help slow the shrinking of the middle class. Closing loopholes often exploited by the wealthy could rake in an additional $450 billion a year, some of which will benefit public institutions and services. Retaining the current tax cuts in lieu of progressive tax policy will cost $826 billion over the next decade.
Too Much – A commentary on excess and inequality from the Institute for Policy Studies
Here’s an editorial from the New York Times on the extension of unemployment benefits being held up by interests in preserving tax loop holes:
And last but not least, even Ben Stein can do the math… See 2006 NYT Ben Stein interview with Warren Buffet here. “There’s class warfare, all right,” Mr. Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”
March 23rd Movement Building Session Wrap-Up
For every dollar that a white American has, Americans of color have only 10 cents. Rose Brewer shared this, and many other shocking facts, with the attentive audience present at Headwaters’ most recent Movement Building Session. This session explored issues of economic justice and the racial wealth divide in the United States. The event, held at the Riverview Wine Bar and Café, brought together an engaged group of activists eager to discuss the unequal distribution of wealth in America. Rose Brewer, co-author of The Color of Wealth, shared the central findings of the book and her perspective on the racial wealth divide in America.
The Color of Wealth explores America’s approach to public policy, arguing that historic, social, and political factors have been systematically designed to benefit white Americans, while disadvantaging people of color. At the event, Brewer offered examples of such policy, including the failed redistribution of land after the Civil War and New Deal policies which were applied unevenly, benefiting white Americans more than Americans of color. During the discussion, Brewer also emphasized the need to address the idea of “wealth,” rather than “income.” She explained that placing too much weight on income and wages prevents people from considering who actually owns resources and how wealth moves from generation to generation. In addition, Brewer offered her perspective on the effects of the recent economic downturn on communities of color. While white, middle-class Americans have certainly been affected by the recession, communities of color have been hit even harder.
In addition to a thought-provoking discussion on economic justice and the racial wealth divide, Rose Brewer addressed the question, What can we do to make change? Pointing to Headwaters’ movement Building series as an example of community engagement, she stated, “This is not an individualistic kind of effort…the point is to align with and connect with those forces that are in motion.” She cited the U.S. Social Forum, out of which the Domestic Workers Union was developed, as an example of activists coming together. The second U.S. Social Forum will be held in Detroit, Michigan from June 22 to June 26, and more information on the event can be found at www.ussf2010.org. Participation in events such as this allows us to make connections with other progressive organizations and raise awareness of the movement being built. Ultimately, small grassroots organizations such as Headwater grantees will be the catalysts for a larger movement.
Report back on February 25th event with the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
Headwaters Foundation for Justice and the Minneapolis Foundation co-hosted a successful and thought provoking lunch seminar with Aaron Dorfman, Director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), to discuss the impact of funding advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement in Minnesota. Trista Harris, Headwaters Foundation’s Executive Director, framed the necessity of this report with a powerful metaphor describing current social issues in Minnesota as rain pouring through a leaking sealing. Social service providers are like buckets collecting the dripping water, but the advocacy, community organizing, and civic engagement funded by foundations and donors provide the base to re build the leaky cealing. Harris’ metaphor illustrates the need for funding of community organizing to foster community engagement, advocacy, informed citizenry, and change at the state level.
The discussion started out addressing that the first step to patching up our roofs and advancing social justice is generating broader public understanding of the impact and benefit of funding advocacy and community organizing. This was the central purpose of the NCRP study, which focused on the work of fifteen Minnesota organizations over a five year period. The study shows dramatic tangible gains in increased public transportation, affordable housing, employment programs, increase in minimum wage, and support for public schools to name a few. These gains affirm that social justice funding is a good investment because it leverages more benefits for social change and services.
“Every dollar invested in advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement of the fifteen groups over the five-year period yielded $138 in benefits to Minnesota” said Dorfman. “Foundations and donors were responsible for 70% of the $16.5 million dollars that went into these organizations to produce social change.”
The effort to attain social justice does not stop at funding. A key catalyst for success was through various non-profits collaborating and working together by blending both advocacy and community organizing strategies to make major gains. This illustrates that civic engagement, community organizing, and advocacy are not separate causes rather the practices can be used to compliment one other in the path to social justice.
Beyond monetary gains, Dorfman acknowledged intangible benefits generated by giving to nonprofits such as spreading awareness, knowledge, and basic organizing skills. The NCRP findings suggest that supporting local nonprofits advocacy, community organizing, and civic engagement leads to real social change and justice within Minnesota.
Environmental Justice Convening - January 2010
Headwaters Foundation partnered with the Minnesota Environmental Fund in bringing together environmental justice groups and larger environmental organizations interested in exploring how they can advance social justice values in their different spheres of influence. Download the event proceedings here.
November 17th Movement Building Session Wrap-up
“Racism has been woven into our society for a long time, and now, for the first time, we are beginning to talk about it openly and honestly.”- Julia Freeman
The importance of maintaining a race-conscious lens towards social issues and working across racial lines to achieve justice were two significant themes during Headwaters’ Power Together Movement Building Session.
Community activists Julia Freeman (Organizing Apprenticeship Project (OAP)) and Elaine Salinas (MIGIZI Communications) joined participants at the session to relay the important work local nonprofits have been doing to eliminate the large racial achievement gap in Minnesota schools. OAP and MIGIZI both pushed for the passing of the 2008 Strong Schools, Strong City referendum, which focused on raising achievement for all MPS students.
Language barriers and deep distrust between parents of color and the school board were both major challenges. But by working closely with each community and demanding that assessments of the referendum be made to prove its educational effectiveness for children of color, OAP and MIGIZI were able to demonstrate the importance of their cause to parents. Furthermore, by facilitating discussions about the meaning of partnership and cooperation, the organizations were able to ease tensions between the parents and the school board. The referendum was overwhelmingly approved by voters on Election Day.
Participants at the Power Together session commented that listening to and conversing with others about strategies for achieving racial equity was “rejuvenating,” especially when confronted with some of the movement’s bigger roadblocks: OAP recently released their Racial Equity Report Card, on which the state legislature and the governor both received an “F.”
But even in the face of legislative woes, Freeman and Salinas remain confident and passionate about the future of racial equity in Minnesota. They stressed the significant role that people willing to collaborate across racial lines to organize have played in moving the agenda forward. Says Freeman, “Even for people who don’t have [children of color], this is important and it effects all of us…Listen, support, be our ally…The community is the parents for these kids.”
Light Rail Tour
The promise of quick and easy transportation between Minneapolis and St. Paul is an appealing prospect for many Minnesotans. Riders aboard Headwaters’ November Light Rail Bus Tour visited residential areas and businesses along the rail’s proposed path and heard from community activists concerned about the negative effect current plans might have on existing residents and businesses along St. Paul’s Central Corridor.
Va-Megn Thoj of the Asian Economic Development Association spoke about the community’s attempts to get through to project planners, “There was a lot of input, but no influence. Social justice is not part of the equation.”
Preserving street parking for local businesses is one issue. The future of affordable housing is another looming question. Maintaining Route 16 bus service is important to the current ridership of 16,419 people, most of whom are low-income residents and people of color. Under current plans, bus service will be cut 50 percent. And there are few stops located near high-density neighborhoods.
Three additional stations have been requested by residents at Hamline, Victoria, and Western, one of which has been granted so far. Almost one third of all residents in St. Paul’s Central Corridor live within a quarter-mile of the missing stations. Statistically, these neighborhoods are poorer, more ethnically diverse, and more transit-dependent than the rest of the St. Paul line.
The tour emphasized the importance of finding a balance between having convenient transportation and ensuring that current residents and businesses can stay in place and thrive.
“It is very possible for this to be handled in a way where the community can really place value in and take ownership of the project,” said Veronica Burt of JUST Equity, “but the project planners haven’t allowed that to happen yet.” Ensuring that every person, including residents of low-income and ethnically diverse communities, will benefit from the construction of the light rail is a crucial step towards achieving equality.
Want more info? Check out these great links:
Join us in April for our Environmental Justice Tour!
Art and Social Change
The expansion of traditional education methods and the utilization of artistic talent and passion in the fight for justice were both key ideas at Headwaters’ Arts and Social Change Mini-Conference, which was held on October 9th. Participants were able to swap stories about their own favorite educational experiences, but were also able expand their knowledge of the possibilities of artistic education by participating in a few mini-workshops taught by local artists and activists: The “Speak out!” session, taught by Shá Cage and e.g. bailey, allowed participants to experience the power of spoken word as a tool of liberation, voice, and choice for the people. Ricardo Levins Morales presented “Pictures can move a thousand feet,” in which attendees learned about using images and framing messages for impact. Last but not least was “Act up!” taught by Alejandra Tobar-alatriz, where participants were able to experience the ways in which the methods of the “Theater of the Oppressed” can engage and organize the community. The convening was a great opportunity for artists, educators and community members alike to explore the essential role that the arts play in the struggle for democracy, sustainability, justice and peace.
Wrap Up on September 24 Session: Building the Emerging Social Justice Movement
The intersection of oppressions provoked thoughtful discussion at our September 24 Movement Building Session with Robert Espinoza, Director of Research and Communication with the national organization Funders for LGBTQ Issues.
Espinoza was in town to present findings on the state of LGBTQ grantmaking in Minnesota, a report that can be accessed online here. Bringing more resources to LGBTQ work-communities of color in particular-and examining the layers of oppression that exist between race, class, gender, culture and sexual identity are key to moving the agenda forward.
Placing value on the ability to talk across wide areas of difference and moving beyond single-identity politics were among the themes that emerged as participants wove their own reflections on Espinoza's presentation into possibilities for action.
For example, LGBTQ people in the Native American community deal with issues of homophobia as well as issues of tribal difference and sovereignty. Transgendered men often carry the internalized oppression of their former identities as women. Placing value on the ability to talk across wide areas of difference could have enormous impact on combating societal racism and sexism, as could having more diversity among staff members in an organization.
Though sometimes, even those strategies do not work. Not surprisingly, though we had one of the most diverse White House cabinets in history under George W. Bush, it did not prevent a range of injustices from being played out under that administration. The politics must change as well.
So what can we build, right here and now, that will benefit future generations?
Understanding what we can do as individuals and connecting that to something broader is central to what Headwaters Movement Building Series is all about.
Movement Building Session with Robert Espinoza, Director of Research and Communication with the national organization Funders for LGBTQ Issues.
