news Archives - Kelly Fair | Speaker + Consultant

Last week we shared with you amazing insights from L’Oreal Thompson Payton. In one of her responses, L’Oreal shares the definition of philanthropy as “love of humanity”. To close our April theme of Philanthropy and Giving, I want to delve into this definition. When we think about donating money, time, and resources, what does love got to do with it?

Valaida Fullwood, from Black and Brown News, proposes in her article, Love Of Humanity: Let’s Radically Engage In Reclaiming The Root Of Philanthropy, that philanthropy (and love) are inherent in Black America. She writes:

Indignities, inequities and injustices do not simply dissipate; instead, we must come together in systematically uprooting them – the needs are great and the need for unity greater. The times beckon a new era of conscientious philanthropy, rooted in a love for community and expectations of social change. Let this generation, both young and old, embody a social transformation with bold recognition of our power and responsibility to give back.

Black America faces many challenges, not just in daily life but also from large institutions in this country. Fullwood suggests that by loving Black America, we can create sustainable change. An extension of that love is philanthropic giving. If we want to see change, we have to support that change! This radical redefining of philanthropy might change the way you think of giving. Philanthropy is not a single, begrudging act, it is an expression of self, a way of life. Instead of engaging in philanthropy. Be philanthropic. Be love. If philanthropy only takes love, then we all have a little to give.

Let’s reclaim the definition of philanthropy. Let’s love our humanity. Let’s love Black America.

[ted id=652 lang=en]

Chimamanda Adichie is a rockin’ novelist from Nigeria. In her TedTalk, Chimamanda shares her personal story of growing up in Nigeria reading only stories about white children with blonde hair and blue eyes. When she began to write, these characters filled her pages; though she could not relate in any way. As the media around her, books, only portrayed white children in stories, she did not know that people who looked like her could be in literature!

From then on, Chimamanda became aware of these “single stories” we develop about people and places. When we only portray people or places in a single way, they become stereotypes. These stereotypes then dominate the identities we create about others and ourselves.

Although Chimamanda speaks to Africa, the same theories can be applied to the United States, most notably, African-Americans. From the historic beginnings of black face to the more recent token person of color, the portrayal of African-Americans by mainstream media has been poor. While we may naively assume that this is contained to only fictional movies and television shows, it is not. The news and social media have been prominent aggravators of the single story surrounding African-Americans. A recent example of this is the viral video of a New York man slapping a woman on the train after being insulted and hit (read more on my JET post here).

Having these stereotypes continually presented to our youth affect their self-development. As Chimamanda says, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete”. Without the full story we cannot properly mentor and support our youth. Without analyzing communities, schools, and society we cannot begin to understand the family or the youth. We must search for the full story.

How do we do this as mentors, parents, teachers, friends, or community members? WE TALK TO OUR YOUTH! They can provide us their stories.

Do not fall for the danger of the single story.

How will you create an alternate ending?