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The Black community has not forgotten the modern-day lynching of George Floyd, a man whose death inspired international protest and a moment whose potency seems to be quickly fading—nevertheless, the Black community remains resilient.
In the four years following the surge in outrage, we have seen a diminishment nationally in sustained focus on issues of racial equity and even outright attacks on the tools meant to advance society.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy documented large giving programs from institutions like the Packard Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and the Lilly Endowment, each reaching $100 million and seeking to advance racial equity.
The Indianapolis African American Quality of Life Initiative stands out as a promising place-based strategy that came out of this epoch.
But there has also been a noted pattern of steep declines in philanthropic giving from foundations and corporations following the initial surge at prominent Black-led institutions.
For example, the Equal Justice Initiative, which famously documented U.S. lynching, experienced a surge in revenue from $35 million in 2019 to $216 million in 2020. But giving dropped to $133 million in 2021 and $112 million in 2022.
McKinsey and Co. tracked the Fortune 1000 corporate monetary commitments to support racial equity, and, in a February 2023 update, found a 32% decline in year-over-year commitments since 2021.
Sixty percent of businesses in the Fortune 1000 have not made public statements of support for racial justice as of October 2022.
As financial commitments cool, we are also seeing disparate results in the legal system on efforts to advance Black racial equity by Black-led not-for-profits.
Recently, a federal judge in Ohio dismissed a lawsuit filed against Progressive Insurance and fintech platform Hello Alice, which provided grants to Black-owned small businesses seeking to obtain a commercial vehicle.
Similar lawsuits against Amazon, Pfizer and Starbucks have been dismissed but have received less attention than a lawsuit against the Black-women-run Fearless Fund.
An appellate challenge prevailed against the Fearless Fund in a split ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, with the majority finding that the organization’s program providing grants to Black women business owners was discriminatory.
Buttressed with support from local corporate efforts like Business Equity for Indy and INSPIRE, which focus on advancing racial equity, the Black community has also been its own agent for change.
A Black agenda preceding the murder of George Floyd highlighted data documenting declines in key social and economic indicators in the Black community while outlining a strategy for addressing community challenges.
The reconstituted Indianapolis Commission on African American Males, which exists to conduct a systemic study of the experiences of Black males in the city, also serves as a convener to discuss community violence, achievement gaps, mental health and Black business development.
The African American Legacy Fund of Indianapolis launched with nearly 100 Black donors donating over $250,000 to support Black-led organizations and initiatives.
Equity1821, a Black-led loan fund, found that upward of 70% of Black businesses have never pursued a business loan to grow their business. It designed a program to provide information to empower Black business owners.
Both the Black arts community and Black political leadership have asserted themselves, calling for and implementing initiatives that advance racial equity in their respective domains.
And while the Black community remains at the bottom of the best statistics and top of the worst statistics, a resilient community continues to fight. Rest in power, George Floyd.•
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Wolley is president and CEO of Black Onyx Management Inc. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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