Building A Pro-Black World

Learn to create a nonprofit organization and society in which Black people can thrive

In Building A Pro-Black World: A Guide To Creating True Equity in The Workplace and In Life, a team of dedicated nonprofit leaders delivers a timely roadmap to building pro-Black nonprofit organizations. Refreshingly moving the conversation beyond stale DEI cliches, editors Cyndi Suarez and the NPQ staff have included works from leading racial justice voices that show you how to create an environment—and society—in which Black people can thrive. You’ll also learn how building such a world will benefit all of society, from the most marginalized to the least.

The book explains how to shift from simply critiquing white supremacist culture and calling out anti-Blackness to actively designing for pro-Blackness. It offers you:

• Incisive and engaging work from leading voices in racial justice, Cyndi Suarez, Dax-Devlon Ross, Liz Derias, Kad Smith, and Isabelle Moses
• Explorations of topics ranging from restorative leadership strategies for staff wellbeing to Black politics and policymaking
• Discussions of new language for pro-Black social change, racial equity in healthcare and health communications, and antiracist succession planning

A can’t-miss resource for civil society and nonprofit leaders, including directors, executives, grant makers, philanthropic donors, and social movement leaders, Building Pro-Black World will also benefit communicators, organizers, and consultants who work with nonprofit organizations.

I Enacting Pro-Black Leadership: A Better World Is Possible 1

Going Pro-Black 3
by Cyndi Suarez

Defining Pro-Black 5
by Cyndi Suarez

When Blackness Is Centered, Everybody Wins: A Conversation with 19
Cyndi Suarez and Dax-Devlon Ross

Leading Restoratively: The Role of Leadership in a Pro-Black Sector 39
by Sequoia Owen

II Building Pro-Black Institutions: Narrative and Forms 47

What It Looks Like to Build a Pro-Black Organization 49
by Liz Derias and Kad Smith

To Build a Public Safety That Protects Black Women and Girls, Money Isn’t the Only Resource We Need 59
by Shanelle Matthews

Combatting Disinformation and Misinformation: A Struggle for Democracy and Racial Justice 69
by Kitana Ananda

Forms: A New Theory of Power 79
by Cyndi Suarez Copyrighted Material

Hierarchy and Justice 85
by Cyndi Suarez

A Journey from White Space to Pro-Black Space 91
by Isabelle Moses

III Building Pro-Black Institutions: Philanthropy and Evaluation 101

The Emergence of Black Funds 103
by Cyndi Suarez

Reimagining Philanthropy to Build a Culture of Repair 109
by Aria Florant and Venneikia Williams

How Philanthropy Can Truly Support Land Justice for Black Communities 115
by Savi Horne and Dr. Jasmine Ratliff

What Does Black Feminist Evaluation Look Like? 119
by Cyndi Suarez

Nothing Is Broken: What Evaluation and Philanthropy Can Learn from Abolitionism 123
by Dr. Aisha Rios

IV Implementing Reparations: Health and Well-Being 129

Revolutionary Black Grace: Finding Emotional Justice in Global Black Communities 131
by Esther A. Armah

What Is Healing Justice? 139
by Nineequa Blanding

The US “Healthcare System” Is a Misnomer—We Don’t Have a System 149
by Amira Barger

Pro-Black Actions That Health Justice Organizations Can Model 157
by Amira Barger

Repairing the Whole: How Reparations Can Address Physical and Mental Health 165
by Trevor Smith

Addressing Inequities in Health Technology 173
by Sonia Sarkar

V Implementing Reparations: Work and Ownership 179

Resurrecting the Promise of 40 Acres: The Imperative of Reparations for Black Americans 181
by William A. Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen

Solutions Centering Black Women in Housing 193
by Natasha Hicks, Anne Price, Rakeen Mabud, and Aisha Nyandoro

Linking Racial and Economic Justice: The Struggle of Our Time 199
by Steve Dubb

What If We Owned It? 205
by Darnell Adams

How Do We Build Black Wealth?: Understanding the Limits of Black Capitalism 225
by Francisco Pérez

VI Organizing for the Future: Community and Politics 235

Making Black Communities Powerful in Politics—and in Our Lives 237
by Alicia Garza

Justice Beyond the Polls: Investing in Black Youth Organizers 241
by Carmel Pryor

The Liberatory World We Want to Create: Loving Accountability and the Limitations of Cancel Culture 247
by Aja Couchois Duncan and Kad Smith

Dimensions of Thriving: Learning from Black LGBTQ+/SGL Moments, Spaces, and Practices 257
by Dr. Kia Darling-Hammond

Pro-Blackness Is Aspirational: A Conversation with Cyndi Suarez and Shanelle Matthews 269

About the Authors 283

Index 291

CYNDI SUAREZ is President and Editor-in-Chief of Nonprofit Quarterly. She is the author of The Power Manual: How to Master Complex Power Dynamics. Suarez has experience as a strategy and innovation consultant with a focus on networks and platforms for social movements.

NPQ ALSO KNOW AS NONPROFIT QUARTERLY, has published a quarterly journal since 1999. Today it also regularly publishes written, video, and audio content online. NPQ curates conversations among civic actors that build shared understanding around core themes of racial justice, economic justice, climate justice, health justice, and leadership. By deepening field knowledge, NPQ aims to advance the theory and practice of multiracial democracy.

In Building A Pro-Black World: Moving Beyond DE&I Work and Creating Spaces for Black People to Thrive, a team of experienced nonprofit leaders delivers an incisive and fresh perspective on race and racial justice. In the book, editor Cyndi Suarez pushes the conversations around racial justice beyond the typical confines of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement.

The book examines the urgent need to build a world in which Black people can thrive, and to design nonprofit organizations, programs, services, and philanthropy for people who are most marginalized by systems of power. It advances the argument that creating a better world for the marginalized will improve the lives of everyone.

Capturing the ongoing shift in nonprofit theory and practice from critiquing white supremacist culture and calling out anti-Blackness to actively designing for pro- Blackness, Building a Pro-Black World presents a collection of brand-new articles and substantial revisions to previously published content. It contains articles written by Dax-Devlon Ross, Liz Derias, Kad Smith, Isabelle Moses, Darnell Adams, Titilola Harley, Candace Stanciel, and Angela N. Romans.

The book tackles a broad range of subjects within the category of racial justice and pro-Blackness, including restorative leadership techniques to promote staff well-being, new language for pro-Black social change, racial equity in healthcare and health communications, anti-racist succession planning, training strategies for board governance, Black politics and policymaking, and the redefinition of nonprofit leadership in a pro-Black context.

An exceptionally thought-provoking resource, Building A Pro-Black World is essential reading for nonprofit managers, board members, staffers, and other business and civil society leaders interested in discovering restorative and equitable strategies for creating a fair and productive work environment.

Move beyond DEI to create an organization and society in which Black people can thrive

Building A Pro-Black World is an insightful and original take on building pro-Black nonprofit organizations. In the book, editor Cyndi Suarez has collected a wide range of engaging articles on everything from restorative leadership strategies for staff well-being to Black politics and policymaking.

You’ll find contributions from renowned and sought-after voices, including Dax-Devlon Ross, Liz Derias, Kad Smith, Isabelle Moses, Darnell Adams, Titilola Harley, Candace Stanciel, and Angela N. Romans. Each in their own way, they address how to create a better world for the most marginalized people in society, as well as how that will improve life for everyone. They explain how to create a world in which Black people can thrive, a notion to which Black liberation movements in the U.S. have long subscribed.

Perfect for nonprofit and civil society leaders, including executives, directors, grant makers, philanthropic donors, social movement leaders, communicators, organizers, and consultants, Building A Pro-Black World will also earn a place in the libraries of anyone interested in racial justice and equity, political science, psychology, sociology, and urban studies.