National Civic Review articles from September 2009

National Civic Review archives from September 2009

Note from the editor.(Editorial)
September 22, 2009... In this issue of National Civic Review, we feature a lineup of essays on the evolving concept of diversity and how recent changes in American society raise new opportunities and challenges for philanthropic and nonprofit organizations. The...

Diversity, inclusion, and the nonprofit sector.
September 22, 2009... This issue of the National Civic Review investigates evolving notions of diversity, inclusion, and pluralism, especially as they relate to philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. We are seeing the sector-and American society generally--entering a...

Bridging the racial opportunity gap.
September 22, 2009... Political discourse on race, diversity, and the Obama presidency has tended to be both polarized and simplistic: one camp contends that America has transcended race and no longer need focus on unequal opportunity (the "postracial society"...

A new conversation about racial identity.
September 22, 2009... The election of Barack Obama to the office of president of the United States is a historic event of such magnitude that one simply cannot overstate its importance. Or perhaps one can. In many ways it is a natural step in the ongoing evolution of...

The call of the tribe: the role of identity in our politics and our lives.
September 22, 2009... We are all familiar with what I will call the "identity reflex." We all hear the call of some tribe or another. We humans are a variegated lot--differing by race, ethnicity, cultural heritage, religion, and political and sexual orientation. This...

Taking account of race: a philanthropic imperative.
September 22, 2009... President Obama's election has unquestionably transformed discussions of race in the United States. At the recent Black Entertainment Television Honors Awards, Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina declared that now that an African...

Toward commonality: thoughts on diversity in a new era of change.
September 22, 2009... With her dark eyes blazing, legendary Latina labor leader Dolores Huerta spoke to a rapt audience of two hundred at an organizing training that I put together for LGBT activists and their allies in Fresno, California, after the state had...

If we build it, they will come.
September 22, 2009... In early 2008, I was invited to deliver the commencement address at the Putney School, the small progressive private school in Vermont I had attended little more than a decade earlier. As the youngest speaker in the history of the school, I was...

The era of the bridge builder: identifying the qualities of "fluent leaders".(Report)
September 22, 2009... Some of us may remember watching a performance of the 1985 hit song "We Are the World," produced by Quincy Jones and featuring an inspiring cast of musicians who sang about working together, past our differences. Or perhaps you remember the...

Latinos, diversity, and racial fatigue in the age of Obama.(Barack Obama)
September 22, 2009... It was in the late 1990s that I began to hear about something called "racial fatigue." Even white liberals by that time were getting a bit cynical about the role of race and racial inequality in the setting of social policy and political...

Fulfilling the promise: rural America and the audacity of hope.(Report)
September 22, 2009... If there was a single defining theme in the 2008 presidential election, it was "the audacity of hope": the temerity of envisioning a more promising future, even when things seemed bleakest. It was a timely message, not simply because it was...

Fear and uncertainty in the era of change.
September 22, 2009... However important Barack Obama's election is as a symbol of racial reconciliation, America's social fabric may nonetheless be unraveling under the pressure of economic hard times. There are signs that during these first months of the term of our...

Debating diversity.(Report)
September 22, 2009... In early 2008, the California Assembly voted for a law that would have required foundations with assets of more than $250 million to disclose the racial and gender composition of their board of trustees, staff, and grantees, as well as the...

Diversity in philanthropy: a comprehensive bibliography.(Bibliography)
September 22, 2009... The Foundation Center's 2008 Diversity in Philanthropy: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Resources Related to Diversity Within the Philanthropic and Nonprofit Sectors reflects the growing interest in and research about this issue. This final...