The past is a prologue for Black people worldwide in these tumultuous times. We are weary. We are mourning. We are hopeful. We hold on to joy against the odds. But we live in a world where our deniable progress since the 1960s has fostered a racist and neo-colonial backlash which has manifested in our communities from the USA to Haiti, Nigeria, to Sao Paolo to Minneapolis, and beyond. Converging crises threaten 20th-century gains in all corners of the Black World. But as givers, investors, and innovators, we have the capacity to create a New Black Funding Renaissance that rebuilds our communities. The rallying cry for 2022 is an ode to Dr. Martin Luther King’s ever-present awareness that the future is now. Despite the crises of the times, we must unify and persevere to achieve lasting change. Fierce Urgency of Now: From Dream to Action will highlight new strategies to advance measurable funding and racial equity in Black communities worldwide.
Observed every August, with year-round economic justice action, Black Philanthropy Month (BPM) is a global celebration and concerted campaign to elevate African-descent funding. BPM is recognized by the United Nations and over 35 government bodies as an important annual cultural event. Having celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2021, BPM has engaged 19 million people from 60 countries since its inception. Today more countries celebrate Black Philanthropy Month than participate in Black History Month.
August 3 | 11:00am-2:00pm EDT: US Global Kick-off
- Ayo Tometi, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter and Founder of Diaspora Rising with BPM and WISE Founder, Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland
- Bakari Sellers, CNN Political Analyst and Former Member of South Carolina House of Representatives
- Gillian Marcelle, CEO and Founder of Resilience Capital Ventures LLC
- Chinedu Enekwe, Partner at Passbooks Ventures and Co-Founder, Nandi Labs
- Ebonie Johnson-Cooper, Executive Director, Young Black & Giving Back Institute