“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust
It requires “new eyes” to see a picture reframed. This quote sums up much of our TEDx Talk, which premiered Friday on BlackGivesBack.com. My 1621 days of discovery changed my sight on everything. And the voyage continues…. VF
This piece and this piece tell the story behind the speech about the stories behind the stories of Giving Back (yes, very meta).
You can finally see it for yourself as I am delighTED to share this TEDx video with you today! Oh and…you can read further about A Picture Reframed, my co-presentation at TEDxCharlotte 2013, here and here. Enjoy!
“It is a responsibility. A seldom-questioned duty.
A thing of supreme Black beauty.”
— Ava Wood, from her poem Truth Be Told
Ebonie Johnson Cooper is a member of the CIN giving circle Black Benefactors and founder of Friends of Ebonie, a public relations group focused on philanthropy among Black Millennials. Ebonie recently attended a Black Gives Back event in New York City and below is her account of the evening. Photography by Margot Jordan
Giving has long been part of the African American community. On February 28, Black Gives Back celebrated the giving of our community in collaboration with JP Morgan Chase’s Black Organization for Leadership Development (BOLD) and with support from Community Investment Network (CIN).
Echoing the spirit of black philanthropy, CIN board member and sector trailblazer Valaida Fullwood led the audience on a journey through black giving and how its very essence is being permeated throughout communities across the nation. Audience members listened intently as Valaida shared facts about black philanthropy and how impactful our work really…
View original post 292 more words
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” — William Shakespeare
March 15, 44 B.C.: Beware of any friends named Brutus! Julius Caesar laughed off a soothsayer’s warning and was assassinated by his frenemy 2056 years ago today. from Goodreads.com
The Ides of March, while clearly not a good day for Julius Caesar, has inevitably been a great day for me. And today has been no except. More on my birthday weekend tomorrow.
— VF
View from around Morganton, my beloved hometown. This iPhone photograph was taken through a screened-in porch, hence the pixelated effect. Looking at this photo takes me home again.
Taken with Valaida’s iPhone
Margot Jordan, photographer
People talk a lot about “finding your purpose.” I generally don’t think about life or my pursuits in exactly those terms. Yet, when I see or hear from people whom I’ve never met, living in distant places clutching or glowing about Giving Back, I think I might have found mine.
Above is a photo of Neosha who won Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists as a giveaway during the recent Friends of Ebonie event, “Defining Young Black Philanthropy,” in Washington, DC.
The panel discussion and networking event, organized by Ebonie Cooper Johnson, was featured in The Washington Post and The Huffington Post. HuffPo asked, Will Black Millennials be the next wave of philanthropists? noting that “the days of old, rich men dominating the philanthropy space are long gone.”
I’m thrilled that attention is heightening and the frame is indeed widening around philanthropy and Black donors, across every generation—Millennial, Gen Y, Gen-X, Boomer and Greatest.
#getyourgiveon
valaida 