Tennessee Voices, Episode 267: Lisa Swift-Young and Kia Jarmon on Black philanthropy
Over the last few years in conversations about the future of philanthropy and the drive to seek racial justice, there have poignant conversations about how to disrupt what some call the "nonprofit industrial complex."
That refers to historic systems that determine who are givers and who are recipients of that charity.
However, efforts like the Give Black, Give Back Initiative of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee seek to change the narrative.
On this episode of the Tennessee Voices podcast, initiative co-chairs and philanthropy advisers Lisa Swift-Young and Kia Jarmon talked about Black philanthropy and why it matters.
They told me that this is about amplifying the voices of Black people as givers and philanthropists in their communities. Historically, Black people have been seen as exclusively recipients, but that is not so.
They also defined the difference between charity — which can make donors feel good — and philanthropy, which is about giving with discomfort, or as the adage goes, "giving until it hurts."
We also discussed the historic challenges of Black American building generational wealth because of systemic obstacles. Those have ranged from redlining and segregated housing to denying employment opportunities to people because of their race.
However, we also talked about leaning into Black joy.
More: Black Tennessee Voices conversations: Kia Jarmon
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The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Black philanthropy with Lisa Swift-Young, Kia Jarmon
