Following their “S.O.S.” webinar series in 2020 which shed light on COVID-19 and Baltimore racial disparities existing prior to and exacerbated by the pandemic, Associated Black Charities (ABC) is set to debut a new webinar series titled Equity at Work. The theme of the new series will examine the application of racial equity in both the workplace and practical application at large in our communities. The debut session will be on Thursday, August 26th, 2021, at 11 AM. Titled “Black Voices in Board Service”, the online panel event will discuss the ramification in lack of representation by Black people on Boards of Directors in the Maryland region. Organized primarily by ABC’s Workforce Strategies team, Tiffani Truss and Jonathan Law, the first session of Equity at Work hopes to pursue the following questions, among others: What opportunities and challenges exist for Black people in nonprofit board service? and, how can Black leadership address racial inequity in the nonprofit sector and what are limiting factors?
Truss and Law oversee ABC’s highly successful Board Pipeline Leadership Development Program, which prepares emerging and experienced Black leaders and leaders of color for board service and connects them to recruiting nonprofits. In ten years, ABC has seen over 400 individuals complete the Board Pipeline Program (BPP) and connect with over 200 nonprofit organizations in the Baltimore-DC region and beyond. While they are encouraged by the impact the alumni and participating organizations of BPP are having on the region, the continued need for the training program only serves to highlight the necessity of the conversation planned for the August 26th webinar.
“Today, the non-profit sector is no less plagued by systemic and structural racism than other sectors. As a result, it is insufficient for non-profits to mean well” shared Law. “Too often, Black staff are denied opportunities to advance, Black organizations are under resourced and under funded, and Black communities are not only underserved but mistreated and exploited by the programs and services meant to help them. Changing non-profit organizations from the top-down by changing their boards is one avenue of change, challenging white leadership and white strips, as well as shifting power dynamics.”
The webinar’s panel will include Dr. Tracey Lynette Durant, Board Chair of Child First Authority, Inc. and Chimes Foundation, Inc (and a Board Pipeline Program alumnus), Terri Freeman of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, and Lorraine Coleman, chair of Youth As Resources Board of Directors. The discussion will be moderated by Terrill North, Executive Director of the Hoffberger Family Foundation. Registration for the webinar is free and available on abc-md.org.
