This week, we witnessed the Supreme Court roll back decades of both precedent and progress. All of these decisions serve the opposite of liberation - they are about controlling others and preserving power. And those who already face systemic oppression in this...
Starting an optional book club for colleagues to discuss Robin DiAngelo or Ibram X. Kendi’s work. Adding Juneteenth, Ramadan or Lunar New Year to your organization’s internal calendar. Creating a DEI discussion channel on Slack. When approached thoughtfully, these...
We are thrilled to announce three promotions on our team! Cornelius Lee and UnSuk Zucker have been promoted to Partner, and Jaime Grimsley has been promoted to Associate Partner. Cornelius (he/him) joined Promise54 as an Associate Partner in 2018, and the accuracy of...
Sometimes clients or audience members ask us whether our public research findings are “statistically significant.” As a refresher for those who are more than a few years out from their last statistics, economics or business course, statistically significant findings...
By mid-June of 2020, more than 21 million Americans participated in mass Black Lives Matter protests across the country in response to murders of Black people at the hands of police — including George Floyd, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Tony McDade,...
Heather: As a Promise54 board member and a foundation staff member, navigating the space between my personal DEI values and the constraints of traditional philanthropic models is rewarding and challenging. I see my work in both capacities as pushing organizations to...
Today we release Unrealized Impact 2.0: The Hard Truth about Where We Are and Ways to Move Forward. This marks the culmination of a year and a half of work, all fueled by a mix of love and hate and informed by a lifetime of experiences. Hate. We hate that this kind...
This week marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising led by: Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman; Sylvia Rivera, a Latina trans woman; Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a Black trans woman; and Stormé DeLarverie, a multi-racial butch lesbian, among others. Their...
As a kid, I sometimes hated my name. People often misspelled it or told me that the way I spelled it was a boy’s name. It was frustrating to be referred to as “Mr. Grimsley,” and this mislabeling taught me an important lesson early on about patriarchy. From there, I...
As June comes to a close, we are reflecting on two particularly important moments and the role of education - and of educating - in the work of racial justice. June began with the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre and also marked the declaration - finally -...