“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
This is a quote we use at Start Co. when talking about efforts to change a community, and it makes me think about our country right now and the task ahead. Haphazard and superficial approaches have not worked for decades. Are we going to continue with more of this or are we truly going to explore the edifice that is producing injustice and inequality, and do something about it? In our line of work we spend a lot of time launching new things, and I cannot help but wonder if this nation can give this idea of a more socially just country the foundation it needs to actually pursue change and have the resources to be effective?
What we are really talking about is systems change approach, and this is no ordinary system with the many social complexities that branch across, not just the justice system, but education, economic, healthcare, poverty, social services, legislative, and executive leadership. Sitting in this landscape of extreme and almost impossible problematic social systems are communities who have been averse to risk and new ideas, funding that is prescriptive, and many times a few professionals trying to make decisions for communities with which they have lost touch. Anyone who has worked in the social and civic space hits this wall, usually when they attempt to go from helping the few to helping the many in a quest to scale and create systems that have cascading impacts.
So what now, what is the plan?
Is it possible to have national, regional, and local leadership and the alignment to invest the time, money, and resources to figure it out? Many times we want to go solve a problem overnight, and although I believe we do have to take advantage of the space that has been opened by the protests, we must also understand that this is really about putting wheels in motion that we keep going for decades in the future. The research and analysis has to be synthesized to set the stage for true community discovery, not just hearing what the people have to say, but also understanding the institutional assets, their effectiveness and how they co-exist. This all has to be done in a diverse way, but we cannot limit ourselves to just what color our skin is; we need diverse mindsets, research backgrounds, and approaches if we are going to solve this problem.
This will inform our ideas and solutions to be better at addressing the need and fitting into the behavior of those in need. Then we must build solutions to be model programs with the hopes of scaling them so that they become social innovations and commonplace solutions that work. Solutions must build off the old, but bring in the new using innovation, technology, civic realignment of partners, and the better use of volunteer and donor pipelines. These solutions must focus on not just bottom up approaches, but also top down strategies for policy changes for sustainability. For all the controversy over President Lyndon B.Johnson, we would be wise to look at his civil rights reform strategies to see how things can happen when being heavily pushed from the top. For the solutions that work, we must scale them and this comes in the form of material investment. How will we deploy capital, technology, and talent on this tsunami of a problem?
This is an example of a process that is needed right now, and this process is not cheap for a country; we should look to invest at minimum $1B into a true building phase that is rooted in discovery, building and prototyping solutions, and putting the massive case together for creating change. And when the time is right could $100B be invested over a period of time be enough to start moving us in the right direction? I’m not sure but it’s a start.
Truly successful efforts start with agitation and disruption, followed by great reform principles; then there are the needed tactics and execution; and finally, a great ability to administer and manage the work. We are just at the starting line with a nation disrupted and ready for change.
Andre K. Fowlkes
President, Start Co.
“One perspective to show that as an organization we value change, especially that which creates solutions to social inequities — it is unfortunate that it took George Floyd’s life to wake this country up, but we appreciate him and what he has done that may not truly be realized for many years to come.”