Module 3 HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF SOCIAL JUSTICE, OPPRESSION & PHILANTHROPY

In order to understand the dynamics of oppression in the United States today, we have to understand some of the historical currents around racism and classism that people of color and low-income communities have faced for centuries. This historical context will inform how we understand the genesis of philanthropy and the need, past and present, for social justice philanthropy today.

• You will explore the historical context of oppression in the United States.
• You will make connections between historical examples of oppression and where we are today in the United States with regard to race, class, gender, and other social group memberships.
• You will grapple with the connection between philanthropic tradition and the distribution of wealth, power, and privilege over time.
• You will understand what social justice philanthropy is and how it can be applied to your own work/life.

• Read the Introduction to “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander (pp. 2-19).
• Read “Constructing Race, Creating White Privilege” by Pem Davidson Buck.
• Watch spoken word performance of “What is Genocide” by Carlos Andres Gomez.
  

See the transcript of the poem here.

• Listen to Bryan Stevenson’s TED Talk .
• Watch President Obama’s speech on race in the United States.
  
• Read Social Justice Philanthropy on Resource Generation’s website.
• Read MacFarquhar, Larissa. “What Money Can Buy,” The New Yorker. January 4, 2016 Issue.

•  At minimum, the facilitator will recommend the Introduction to “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander and Social Justice Philanthropy on Resource Generation’s website.
• This module builds on material introduced in Modules 1 and 2 by providing a historical context of how oppression has manifested over time and why we are where we are today.