Racial Justice Is at Heart of Brooklyn Community Foundation Shift
When the Brooklyn Community Foundation (BCF) announced in early November that it would divest from private prison companies, predatory lenders and the gun manufacturing industry, President and CEO Cecilia Clarke explained the decision by referencing a specific strategy, one heavily influenced by residents of the neighborhood BCF calls home.
“Racial equity is core to our vision of a fair and just Brooklyn,” said Cecilia Clarke, president and CEO, in a statement announcing the decision. “Private prisons, gun manufacturers, and predatory lenders are three industries that have had a devastating impact on communities of color and low-income communities in our borough and across our nation.”
Indeed, The Sentencing Project has determined that, for U.S. residents born in 2001, one in three black men and one in six Latino men will end up in prison, compared with one in 17 white men...