There are moments when the grand, slow sweep of history is punctuated by changes that take us all by surprise. Like an earthquake is the sudden culmination of years of building tension, the dramatic shifts in America’s racial and education justice landscape over the last decade emerged from trends long preceding it. Four factors converged to create this moment of challenge and opportunity.

First, the American classroom has changed from a generation ago. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics tells us that as of 2021, public school students in the U.S. are now majority non-white, part of a trend stretching back decades.

Second, the education justice movement has changed as well. As the public school community has diversified, parents, young people, and educators have increased their demands for equitable funding, an end to discriminatory and punitive school discipline policies, and the wraparound services and supports needed to make the promise of quality education real for every child, regardless of their origin or identity, or neighborhood in which they grow up.

The larger racial justice movement, too, has changed over the past decade, reaching its most recent peak in the summer of 2020 after the police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Institutions large and small have shifted their rhetoric, and to a lesser extent, their practices, in response to their members, customers, donors, and constituents.

The fourth factor is a backlash to the first three, in a pattern that extends back to the Reconstruction Era in the 19th century. Advances in racial justice are being met with harsh reaction from the radical right. Books have been banned, curriculums whitewashed, educators constrained or silenced, and the ability of both advocacy and service organizations to address racial inequity has been seriously challenged in the courts. Critical anchors of a multi-racial democracy, from the classroom to the ballot box, have come under sustained attack.

As racism is a system, our efforts for racial justice must be systematic. Our approach must be methodical and comprehensive. What does that mean for funders in practice? For starters, it means there is no singular solution: Effort is needed from us all, regardless of our budget size or program areas. It also means that we can’t do our part in isolation. We must be in communication, collaboration, and mutual support to ensure we’re making progress, improving our practice, and holding ourselves and each other accountable for what we pledge. Here are some starting points.

  • Transform analysis.
  • Transform grantmaking strategy.
  • Transform organizational practices.

Read the full article about education philanthropy and racial justice by John H. Jackson and Nicole Rodriguez Leach at Stanford Social Innovation Review.