Philanthropy and Racial Equity: Tools for Addressing Implicit Bias and Advancing Racial Equity

We are in a moment where the nation’s racial discourse is more complex and ever-present than most have experienced before. Yet while so pervasive, for some it may feel even more challenging to effectively navigate and directly engage issues of race and racism. For others, increased volatility can lead to greater racial anxiety and avoidance.

This is a time for funders to recognize the imperative of understanding how race impacts their strategies, their engagement with grantees and their communities, moving beyond saying the right thing or assuming they “get it” about race and racism, to realizing that we are all always tackling societal messages at multiple levels.

How do our implicit biases impact our decision making? What steps can be taken to counter these biases individually and institutionally? 

We will explore:

• How our brains process racial paradoxes and polarization;
• Core concepts including explicit bias, implicit bias, racial anxiety, stereotype threat, confirmation bias, and systems justification and how they affect our decision-making;
• How to communicate effectively without triggering racial anxiety or marginalization.
• What steps can be taken to counter these biases individually and institutionally as an important aspect of grantmaking with a racial equity lens.

Our facilitators will be Alexis McGill Johnson, Executive Director and Rachel D. Godsil, Director of Research of the Perception Institute.

This program is part of Maryland Philanthropy Network’s Philanthropy and Racial Equity Series and is for members only.

Remote participation is not available.