Ford Foundation Announces Three New Concentration Areas
During the spring of 1816, four decades after Thomas Jefferson drafted the United States’ Declaration of Independence, he exchanged letters with an old colleague and companion from his days as minister to France’s court of Louis XVI. This friend, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, had written to Jefferson to share a treatise he had composed about the purpose and virtues of republican government. And with characteristic eloquence—and the wisdom of an extraordinary 73 years behind him—Jefferson responded boldly to du Pont’s manuscript: “Justice,” he penned, “is the fundamental law of society.”
From the very inception of the United States, this “fundamental law” has guided our grand experiment in self-determination and global leadership. In our Constitution’s preamble, the framers made clear their ambition “to establish justice.” In our courtrooms, we call for “equal justice under the law.” In our classrooms, we pledge allegiance to a republic “with liberty and justice for all.”
No question, the ideal of justice has faced all varieties of tests and trials—contests and contradictions—during these last two and one-third centuries. Each generation of Americans has, in turn, been called to reimagine, reaffirm, and renew its commitment to justice.
And still, we see justice’s uneven march forward all around us. I see it—and feel it—in the humbling fact that my semi-literate grandfather’s education ended in the third grade, while I am privileged to serve as the president of the Ford Foundation.
Today, however, the institutions designed to protect and promote justice in our society—to serve and strengthen our democracy—are beleaguered and besieged.
In a just society, people are guaranteed a voice—and vote—to influence the decisions that affect them. In our society, access to the levers of power is heavily skewed in favor of the wealthy and privileged.
In a just society, journalists hold the powerful to account. In our society, the powerful are waging a concerted campaign to degrade and delegitimize the free press.
In a just society, the rule of law is applied equally, regardless of identity, ability, or income. In our society, the justice system favors the privileged and powerful over the poor and vulnerable. In our society, women are too often hindered by a culture that tolerates harassment and abuse.
In these ways and many others, we have seen the United States abdicate its responsibility, legitimacy, and integrity as a leader for justice in the world. The consequence is an American society driven by and reeling from inequality, and a global community devoid of America’s best example...