Make Sure Your Antiracism Efforts Cost You Something

A month on from George Floyd's tragic murder and Amy Cooper's nauseating reveal, we're seeing recent and historical episodes of violent racism get attention; public protest and pressure wins some battles and lose others; and Black-authored books sell out as we scramble to educate ourselves about the horrific truths that we've been privileged to ignore until now. We must keep learning, extending moral and energetic support to Black colleagues, calling public officials, signing petitions, and bringing our white friends and families along with us. 

As we work to unlearn deeply held ideas, our spending (as a nation, organizations, and as individuals) reflects our values. Systemic racism in our country is deeply intertwined with extractive capitalism. To achieve a healthier, fairer, more inclusive and regenerative economy, we must unlearn the racist approach we've taken to production. And relearning an equitable, people-first approach of anti-racism will inform business that's better for people and the planet.

So alongside the education, advocacy, and reflection we must keep doing, we must also move quickly and boldly to reallocate our spending, as individuals, organizations, and governments. It is possible and necessary to use our buying power to support the change we say we want to see to an anti-racist and more equitable future. You don't have to control a multi-million dollar budget to have opportunities to vote with your wallet. Here are some ways to get started.

• Buy from black-owned businesses, which can be found in Official Black Wall Street, Eat Okra (see below), and several other sources depending on what you're looking for. What I realized in the scramble to buy How to Be Anti-Racist, Me And White Supremacy, and other important sources from black-owned bookshops rather than Billionaire Bezos is that because of the systemic racism we're working to undo, the radical underinvestment in black-owned businesses means that some of their infrastructure isn't Silicon Valley speed. We have to wean ourselves from 24-hour free delivery to realign our spending with the change we want to see. 

• Donate boldly to official and grassroots efforts to unwind systemic racism. There are myriad ways to do this, including healthcare for under- and uninsured, bail funds, education from Pre-K to graduate studies, advocacy and awareness campaigns, prison and police reform, and support for the families of victims of racist violence. Choose the causes that resonate with you and make your donations recurring. As Bryan Stevenson of one of my favorite organizations, Equal Justice Initiative, points out: a few years of a predictable $50 monthly donation of unrestricted funds is worth a lot more to a not-for-profit than $2,000 today for a specific use or campaign. Read "From Charity to Justice" for seven important questions to ask as you choose where to donate.

• Vote, support candidates of color, and invest in fair campaigns and the preservation of voting rights, which are under terrifying levels of threat.

• Invest in companies that are taking the work of becoming anti-racist seriously. It's early days in the level of transparency we're starting to see in this area, and a lot of corporate initiatives are still bandaids rather than deep systemic reform. But there are several ETFs that screen for companies positive practices including social impact, which are the most likely to stay on the leading edge of doing business in a way that's better for all people, and the planet. Use JUST Capital's data and check out their ETF as one example. If you can spend $100/month, you can become a SheEO Activator, contributing to their investment which are assigned in a democratic way that removes many of the barriers in more traditional investment processes. And if you're ready to be an angel investor with $5-50K checks, look to Portfolia's Rising America Fund, Reinventure Capital or one of their dozens of recommended funds that invest in founders of color and LGBTQIA identities.

• At work: be sure that your company is putting money behind its claims of commitment to Black Lives Matter and equity more broadly. This might look like allowing or facilitating learning for white team members, self-care or mental health services for team members of color during paid working hours. Ideally, investments in making the workplace more inclusive, equitable, and THEN diverse (important to be ready to receive Black and other people of color and non-cis identities before trying to recruit more diversely) would be allocated in a community design process, by the very employees with a vested interest in how that money is spent. More on community design from the brilliant Sloan Leo here.

Jamelle Bouie put it clearly: "Our society was built on the racial segmentation of personhood... That unequal distribution of personhood was an economic reality as well. It shaped your access to employment and capital; determined whether you would be doomed to the margins of labor or given access to its elevated ranks; marked who might share in the bounty of capitalist production and who would most likely be cast out as disposable."

It also matters where we don't spend. Specifically, try to avoid businesses that use prison labor. Learn more about the call to defund the police, which I know can sound startling or extreme [if it does, here's the not-known-for-radicalism Brookings explaining the move], and vote accordingly. 

Start somewhere from this list or make other changes you've been wanting to make with your money. And then give yourself credit - or make commitments for coming days - using this Antiracism Practice tracker, a simple way to make sure you're doing the things you want to do to see the change you want to see in the world. Here’s some more background on that tool - let me know what you think if you decide to experiment with it or share.