Read Deborah Hoover's Blog Post on the Foundation's Racial Equity Journey
Written for Philanthropy Ohio, August 14, 2020
One foundation's racial equity journey
In December 2015, I traveled to Durham, North Carolina, for a convening of colleagues from our host city, along with Cleveland, New Orleans and Detroit, organized through a Forward Cities initiative focused on inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship. Forward Cities provided a unique opportunity for Burton D. Morgan Foundation to deepen its understanding of what it means to create opportunities for all through entrepreneurship. We toured American Underground startup hub, visited Hayti (historic African American community founded after the Civil War), Black Wall Street and North Carolina Central University (first publicly funded liberal arts school for Blacks in the country). We learned about neighborhoods bisected and decimated by highway construction during urban renewal initiatives of the mid-20th century. We listened to stories of Blacks working in the community today rebuilding neighborhoods through entrepreneurship, strength and gumption.