Marguerite Casey Foundation

Help us welcome these 4️⃣ visionary movement scholars to the growing MCF #FreedomScholar community! With this 2024 cohort, there are now 38 Freedom Scholars, leaders in academia whose research provides critical insight from and to social justice leaders and whose ideas encourage us to imagine how we can radically improve our democracy, economy, and society. Add your message of welcome and congratulations in the comments!

Happening this week!

In the last four years, Marguerite Casey Foundation (MCF) has made enormous strides to bring the full weight of our endowment into lockstep with our racial and economic justice values. Currently, we’ve reached 97% mission-aligned investments, and we get a lot of questions about how we’ve made this change so quickly. To help spread awareness about the how and why of values-aligned investing, my esteemed colleague Daniel Gould, CFA, CAIA, MCF’s Vice President Of Investments & Operations traveled to the Philanthropy Northwest conference in Montana last week to share the story of MCF’s journey to align our endowment with our mission. A packed room heard about the work Dan has led, alongside our board of directors and trusted partners, to create robust, values-aligned screening for our investments and the racial and gender diversity and inclusion requirements for the companies overseeing them. MCF was honored to present our story alongside two highly trusted and valued asset managers, Mamadou-Abou Sarr, CIFD, founder of V-Square Quantitative Management LLC, and Daryn Dodson, founder of Illumen Capital, who shared their approaches in the public and private equity markets and spoke to the experience of seeking funding in the current landscape. For my colleagues in philanthropy, if you are looking for actionable ideas on how to shift your institutional practices to align your endowment with your mission, I have good news: It doesn’t have to be hard, especially if you have the right partners.

We love to see it! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥 Throwback to the Bookmarks Festival of Authors and Books where MCF president and CEO, Dr. Carmen Rojas (center) moderated a panel with #MCFFreedomScholars Dr. Robin D. G. Kelley (left) and Dr. keeanga-yamahtta taylor (right) to honor the book OUR HISTORY HAS ALWAYS BEEN CONTRABAND: IN DEFENSE OF BLACK STUDIES, which was coedited by Kelley, Taylor, and Colin Kaepernick, with support from MCF. Thanks to everyone who came out to the discussion and book signing! If you missed the event you can still catch the learnings by downloading a free copy of the ebook, copublished by our friends at Haymarket Books and Kaepernick Publishing at CaseyGrants.org/FreeBook.

Due to overwhelming demand, our in-person event with Haymarket Books sold out—but don’t worry, MCF has got you covered! We’re offering a special bonus session of our popular #MCFSummerSchool series: a virtual exploration of Angela Davis’s powerful book "Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine and the Foundations of a Movement"! Join us online to dive deep into the connections between movements from Ferguson to Palestine and beyond. Our esteemed panelists will shed light on how the legacies of past liberation struggles inform today’s fight against state violence—both in the US and around the world. Together, we'll explore what abolition feminism can teach us about today’s global struggles for liberation. This event features Dr. Angela Y. Davis, author and longtime activist-scholar known internationally for her ongoing work to combat all forms of oppression in the US and abroad; Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, one of the leading intellectual voices in the country; and Dima Khalidi, founder and director of Palestine Legal.

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Last week, I had the distinct honor of moderating our final in-person #MCFSummerSchool event of the year celebrating the brilliant work of Angela Davis and her 2016 best-seller, “Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement.” My deepest appreciation to featured guests Dr. Lamont Hill and Dr. Davis, and our fantastic host, Dima Khalidi, founder and director of Palestine Legal, as well as to our friends at Haymarket Books for partnering with the Marguerite Casey Foundation team to make this sold-out event at the Music Box Theater in Chicago such a success. Our discussion dove deep into the legacies and connections between historic and current justice movements from Ferguson to Palestine and beyond and the wisdom that Black feminism, abolition feminism, and intersectional approaches make our work sharper and our resolve stronger. Thank you to everyone who joined in this powerful recommitment to the struggle for freedom. And a special nod to the more than 2,000 people who signed up for our MCF Summer School Series. Stay tuned for more resources and insights from MCF Summer School in the coming weeks. Building a freedom movement worthy of the name is no small feat—but our lives depend on it. Let’s keep this momentum going!

Last week, I had the distinct honor of moderating our final in-person #MCFSummerSchool event of the year celebrating the brilliant work of Angela Davis and her 2016 best-seller, “Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement.” My deepest appreciation to featured guests Dr. Lamont Hill and Dr. Davis, and our fantastic host, Dima Khalidi, founder and director of Palestine Legal, as well as to our friends at Haymarket Books for partnering with the Marguerite Casey Foundation team to make this sold-out event at the Music Box Theater in Chicago such a success. Our discussion dove deep into the legacies and connections between historic and current justice movements from Ferguson to Palestine and beyond and the wisdom that Black feminism, abolition feminism, and intersectional approaches make our work sharper and our resolve stronger. Thank you to everyone who joined in this powerful recommitment to the struggle for freedom. And a special nod to the more than 2,000 people who signed up for our MCF Summer School Series. Stay tuned for more resources and insights from MCF Summer School in the coming weeks. Building a freedom movement worthy of the name is no small feat—but our lives depend on it. Let’s keep this momentum going!

Collective resistance is our best bet against fascism, but repressive forces have introduced more than 250 anti-protest bills introduced since 2014. Here's what you need to know...

We are delighted to launch registration for our final #MCFBookClub event in partnership with Marguerite Casey Foundation celebrating “King: A Life” — the first significant account in decades of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This event features Pulitzer-winning biographer Jonathan Eig in conversation with Dr. Carmen Rojas, PhD (she/her), President & CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation, and Dr. Darrick Hamilton, Professor of Economics and Urban Policy at The New School. Register to join us on November 19th in New York City for a conversation on the intricate dynamics of King’s leadership and legacy in today’s political context. https://lnkd.in/dJ-fgDny