{"id":24754,"date":"2023-01-14T12:35:15","date_gmt":"2023-01-14T20:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=24754"},"modified":"2023-01-14T12:35:17","modified_gmt":"2023-01-14T20:35:17","slug":"on-martin-luther-king-jr-day-we-must-focus-on-economic-injustice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/01\/14\/on-martin-luther-king-jr-day-we-must-focus-on-economic-injustice\/","title":{"rendered":"On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we must focus on economic injustice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul><li><em>By Fred Blackwell | Special to The Examiner |<\/em><\/li><li>Jan 13, 2023\u00a0<em>Updated\u00a0<\/em>19 hrs ago  (SFExaminer.com)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/sfexaminer.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/e\/12\/e1261ece-9383-11ed-a138-ff0d763fa1d0\/63c1c480d3ad0.image.jpg?resize=400%2C318\" alt=\"Martin Luther King, Jr.  at Cow Palace\"\/><figcaption><em>Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks at an interfaith civil rights rally in San Francisco Cow Palace on June 30 1964. \u201cPhilanthropy is commendable,\u201d King said in 1963, \u201cbut it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.\u201d<\/em><em>Courtesy George Conklin<\/em><em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>https:\/\/trinitymedia.ai\/player\/trinity-player.php?pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfexaminer.com%2Four_sections%2Fforum%2Fon-martin-luther-king-jr-day-focus-on-economic-injustice%2Farticle_5d03aafe-937d-11ed-bda9-7fd02967b726.html&#038;partner=Flex&#038;FAB=1&#038;textSelector=I2FydGljbGUtYm9keQ%3D%3D&#038;unitId=2900003117&#038;userId=b0ef4e59-6823-4077-a63a-6a23a8d46dcc&#038;isLegacyBrowser=false&#038;version=20230113_481d327f0015fee88486811a7d370bfe581a5731&#038;useCFCDN=0&#038;themeId=140<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Monday we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day \u2014 a day when Americans honor Dr. King\u2019s legacy by engaging in service for the betterment of our communities. So it is befitting to reflect on this day 75 years ago when the San Francisco Foundation was founded as a vehicle for community philanthropy in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The year that the foundation was born, 1948, a young Martin Luther King \u2014 then just 19 \u2014 graduated from Morehouse College and entered seminary school. As a fellow Morehouse Man, my worldview was deeply affected by Dr. King\u2019s teachings. While at Morehouse in the late 1980s and early \u201990s, my classmates and I would assemble weekly in the chapel that was named after Dr. King. We would hear from Black leaders from around the country about the importance of leadership, service and civil rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those teachings and that immersion continue to serve as a compass in my philanthropic work today. \u201cPhilanthropy is commendable,\u201d King said in 1963, \u201cbut it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: San Francisco Examiner, 465 California Street, San Francisco, CA, 94104, US, https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe\u00ae link, found at the bottom of every email.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.constantcontact.com\/legal\/service-provider\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.<\/a>Sign up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those circumstances and systems continue to exclude far too many people in the Bay Area. Today, one in 10 Bay Area neighborhoods is a segregated area of white wealth; Native American and Black workers have the highest rates of joblessness; and only a third of top elected officials are people of color, despite the fact that people of color make up 60% of the population, according to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bayareaequityatlas.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bay Area Equity Atlas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To address these inequities, the San Francisco Foundation today is singularly focused on racial equity as our region\u2019s greatest challenge. To do this, we\u2019ve expanded our work beyond traditional philanthropy. From policy advocacy, impact investing, donor partnerships and grantmaking, we\u2019re doing everything in our power to create a Bay Area where everyone thrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past year, we \u2014 together with our many partners \u2014 helped pass legislation to ensure paid sick leave for domestic workers in San Francisco. We helped win $20 million from the state to protect tenants, produce new affordable housing and preserve already affordable housing. And we\u2019ve made a $10 million investment to build power among communities of color in the Bay Area and throughout the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are some of the ways in which we show up in service to the Bay Area today. And as we mark our 75th anniversary, we\u2019re also reflecting on the ways in which our history has a social justice throughline that embodies Dr. King\u2019s values and radical imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With just $20 in the bank, the San Francisco Foundation was established by three incredible individuals: Marjorie De Young Elkus and Leslie Ganyard \u2014 two nationally regarded social welfare experts \u2014 and Daniel E. Koshland Sr. of Levi Strauss &amp; Co, who served on progressive nonprofit boards throughout his life. On Jan. 16, 1948, The San Francisco Examiner reported that the foundation would provide the community with \u201ca contemporary agency sensitive to current social needs, and one which will help build a future which will magnify the opportunities of generations yet to be born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since then, we\u2019ve granted more than $3 billion to thousands of nonprofits in the Bay Area. These organizations have played critical roles in many of the largest social justice movements that have shaped the Bay Area, from disability rights and the AIDS epidemic to reproductive and immigrant rights, to our shared vision of racial equity today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we reflect on 75 years of service to the Bay Area, we are deeply grateful to all of the community members and organizations that have partnered with us to make change happen. But our collective work is far from done. We look ahead to our next 75 years knowing that we can all step up, use our social capital, and create an equitable Bay Area where everyone can thrive and reach their full potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn\u2019t lie in not reaching your goal,\u201d said Benjamin Mays, Dr. King\u2019s mentor and the former president of Morehouse College. \u201cThe tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Fred Blackwell is CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, which marks its<\/em>&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/sff.org\/sff-75th-anniversary\/?utm_source=sfexaminer&amp;utm_medium=online+media+oped&amp;utm_campaign=sff75\">75th anniversary<\/a><\/em>&nbsp;<em>on Jan. 16, and previously served as interim city administrator for the city of Oakland, and director of the Mayor\u2019s Office of Community Development in San Francisco.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Fred Blackwell | Special to The Examiner | Jan 13, 2023\u00a0Updated\u00a019 hrs ago (SFExaminer.com) https:\/\/trinitymedia.ai\/player\/trinity-player.php?pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfexaminer.com%2Four_sections%2Fforum%2Fon-martin-luther-king-jr-day-focus-on-economic-injustice%2Farticle_5d03aafe-937d-11ed-bda9-7fd02967b726.html&#038;partner=Flex&#038;FAB=1&#038;textSelector=I2FydGljbGUtYm9keQ%3D%3D&#038;unitId=2900003117&#038;userId=b0ef4e59-6823-4077-a63a-6a23a8d46dcc&#038;isLegacyBrowser=false&#038;version=20230113_481d327f0015fee88486811a7d370bfe581a5731&#038;useCFCDN=0&#038;themeId=140 On Monday we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day \u2014 a day when Americans honor Dr. King\u2019s legacy by engaging in service for the betterment of our communities. So it is befitting to reflect&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/01\/14\/on-martin-luther-king-jr-day-we-must-focus-on-economic-injustice\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24755,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24754\/revisions\/24755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}