The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

I apologize for the delay in my reflection, but my road-runner status is not quite ready to be put to rest. Last weekend proved to be a typical weekend for me. As you all know, I had to leave our Friday session a little early to meet my brother in NY. We were able to attend a very important event on ending mass incarceration at the historic Riverside Church; the same church where Dr. King delivered his now famous 1967 speech, A Time To Break Silence (one year to the day of his death). Cornel West, Angela Davis, Pam Africa, and Michelle Alexander were present and spoke of how the issue of mass incarceration is the greatest civil and human rights issue of our generation. It was very inspiring to see that beautiful church filled with thousands of people who also believed in addressing this injust system.

After the event my younger brother, and I got on an 11pm bus to Philly. We were in line waiting on the bus discussing some of his upcoming projects and papers at school, when a gentleman behind us, overhearing our conversation interjected his thoughts on quantum physics and the economic trajectory of Africa as an emerging global market. Of course this got my little engine revving, and we talked the whole two hours to Philadelphia.

What I found most significant about the conversation was, this young white intellectual male's interest in speaking honestly and candid about social issues such as race, economics, and education, it was truly the first time I have ever had a conversation with a white person minus guilt and defensiveness. As a mathematician, he said quite matter of fact, that the majority culture and its academic institutions look at statistics to explain various inequalities; although one must be cautious that data is analyzed not as causation but collating.

"For instance, the question, are black people dumber than whites? Some would look to data in education, economics, and poverty to answer yes, because of the huge disparities." Even though, he acknowledged, that there were many other factors that caused these disparities, the reality is, there's a linear perspective and approach taken when trying to understand these phenomenons.

I share this because, not only the article Pretince wrote about the winners and losers of philanthropy, but if in the field of philanthropy, strategic planning is being based off of managed knowledge and applied research to inform the decisions of where money and resources are being allocated then our presence in this field becomes even more necessary and valuable to present not only different ways of attacking these glaring inequalities, but most importantly to represent the blatant fallacy of these assumptions.

In that moment of conversation, I felt a shift. A clarity, affirming I am where I'm suppose to be. Everything, is aligned to ensure that I am apart of the epoch's shift towards humanity, and literally the only thing existing as an obstacle is me. I am determined to push myself beyond any limits I have every imagined. There are no boundaries in this monumental shift of society; innovation, creativity, and foundational truths become the tools for navigating not just this year, but the second decade of this 21st century.

I've digressed slightly, but these reflections serve as a wonderful tool for processing information, and I'm very thankful for them.

Of course, we made it to Philadelphia around 1am. Got to my mentor's home and crashed for a few hours, only to wake up at 7am for a jam packed itinerary. In the short hours of the day, I had to get my hair done, go to a lecture, get a uhual, retrieve my things from storage, and drive five hours back to Northampton. Thankfully it all got done and then some, arriving back in Western Mass a little after midnight. Oh but if the journey ended there, it would have been enough, but I had to get up early and take a 7am bus to Boston to retrieve my car from the Riverside metro station and then drive back to Northampton to pick up my brother and then drive him to New York to catch his flight. Of course I could have put him on a bus, but that commute was way to arduous and my parents were extremely anxious to ensure Jomo did not miss his flight back to school.

All of that being said, I was successful in my weekend's activities, and was at my desk bright and early Monday morning to begin an epic week of travel back and forth to Boston. It is alot and a bit jarring but completely worth it. At Tuesday's breakfast I had an enlightening conversation with Pretince about my interest in addressing criminal justice and race in philanthropy. He was very honest in stating that this is a very challenging goal. There are very few if any that are addressing this issue nationally, let alone state and locally. Amber, in our conversations later, affirmed this, sharing, "if a funding collaborative is something you seek to create, then it must be solid." She also committed herself to be a support for me through this process, and I am truly excited by these prospects.

I am diligently still working on my workplan, and excited to have a road map for navigating this year, and staying focused and intentional. I'm going to end here, but can't wait to see you all Friday, and if anyone is interested after Friday's session, I'm going to a yin yoga class in Cambridge, you are completely welcomed to come. Here is a link to yin yoga if you are interested (http://www.yinyoga.com/)!! Talk to you soon!

Peace and love!