Want to keep Black women in the nonprofit sector?

On April 20, 2021, I waited stoically in front of my television for the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial for the murder of George Floyd. The minutes were long and unsure, laced with hope for Mr. Floyd’s family and exhaustion from our country’s apathy. 

Upon hearing the guilty verdict, my heart did not quite know how to beat. 

I was happy, but not. Relieved, yet melancholy. 

Justice simply felt unjust. More than anything, the verdict reminded me that I feel policed in my everyday life, in a sector that I joined in order to serve a greater good. It reminded me I feel policed because of the ways anti-Blackness shows up in the nonprofit sector, how it informs policies, determines who enters the leadership pipeline, and shapes decision making power. 

Today, Black women in the nonprofit realm constantly face spoken and unspoken rules on how to present our bodies, our voices, and our aspirations. This new kind of policing is unlike the respectability politics of old — the politics that would have you believe that advanced degrees and a business suit can keep you safe from harm. This new type of policing problematizes however we show up. It makes an issue of our joy, our bodies, our intellect, and our work ethic. 

I have experienced my share of policing at the hands of colleagues and managers. It manifests in ways bold and slippery, through commentary on my vocabulary, through dismissiveness, through reminders for me to stay in my place. And I am hardly alone. 

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has documented the ways Black leaders feel isolated and navigate “racially fraught power dynamics.” 

At the intersection of philanthropy and leadership is a sector that expects Black professionals —  women especially — to shrink and accept the status quo. 

But our lived experiences are actually intersectional and compounding — and they will be among the greatest measures of progress towards a nonprofit sector that addresses systemic inequities with the same gumption that it wordsmiths statements of support. 

Here are some experiences I gathered from my peers — all Black women — on the myriad ways anti-Blackness has shown up for them at work — as well as their wisdom and strategies for thriving in spite of it all.   

Full article available on Community Centric Fundraising: https://communitycentricfundraising.org/2021/06/07/want-to-keep-black-women-in-the-nonprofit-sector-worry-about-yourselves/