Untying Knots Podcast: Episode 1 - Transforming Wealth Inequity through Anti-Racist Funding

Hundreds of years of racist institutional policies have denied wealth to Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. In this current period of uprising, resistance, and crisis on racial injustice, organizational leaders are asking: what does it look like to make structural change for racial justice? Two organizations in Boston, the Haymarket People’s Fund and the Boston Ujima Project, provide a critical model for applying an anti-racist lens to operations, mission, ongoing learning, and accountability.

In the first episode of Untying Knots, hosts Nikhil Raghuveera (Fellow at the Atlantic Council GeoTech Center) and Erica Licht of the IARA Project Team at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation take a closer look at the history of institutional racism in lending, and efforts locally to re-think radical redistribution of power and resources. Interviews with key staff at both organizations reveal how they translate their mission to anti-racist funding mechanisms. Haymarket’s story demonstrates a twenty-year organizational journey of working towards anti-racist change, and Ujima provides a model for equitable community lending.

Notes:

Untying Knots, co-hosted by Nikhil Raghuveera and Erica Licht, explores how people and organizations are untying knots of systemic oppression and working towards a more equitable future. Each episode features special guests and a focus on thematic areas across society. 

This podcast is published by the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center in collaboration with the Atlantic Council GeoTech Center. Thanks to Dr. Megan Ming Francis, Karla Nicholson, Lucas Turner- Owens, Carolyn Chou and Alex Papali.

Learn More:

Haymarket People’s Fund: https://www.haymarket.org/

Boston Ujima Project: https://www.ujimaboston.com/

People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond: https://www.pisab.org/

Asian American Resource Workshop: https://www.aarw.org/

Music:

Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

About the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project

The Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project believes in working at the intersection of community, academia, and policy to address intellectual and practical questions as they relate to antiracism policy, practice, and institutional change. In order to create and sustain change, the goal of this project is to promote antiracism as a core value for organizations by critically evaluating structures and policies within institutions. The project aims to analytically examine the current field of antiracism with a lens on research and innovation, policy, dialogue, and community involvement.

Our vision is to be a leader in institutional antiracism research, policy, and advocacy, and propose structural change in institutions and media centered on antiracism work in the public, private, non-profit sectors and digital space. This work will focus on researching existing organizations that conduct antiracism training and development while analyzing their effectiveness and promoting best practices in the field. Additionally, we will study the implementation of antiracism work among institutions that self-identify as antiracist and promote accountability structures in order for them to achieve their goals.

About the Ash Center 

The Ash Center is a research center and think tank at Harvard Kennedy School focused on democracy, government innovation, and Asia public policy. AshCast, the Center's podcast series, is a collection of conversations, including events and Q&As with experts, from around the Center on pressing issues, forward-looking solutions, and more. 

Visit the Ash Center online, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. For updates on the latest research, events, and activities, please signup for our newsletter.