The board of the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, a private foundation in Washington, DC, elected Deborah Ratner Salzberg as chair of the board at its June 2, 2016 meeting.Read more
We are long past any question about whether the president and many of the people around him and supporting him are racist. His actions and his words by any objective standard make it so. What is more important is to understand how our systems of government and white culture actively enable racism to continue to play out in our election processes, our governance processes, in virtually every aspect of our day-to-day existence in this country.Read more
I never thought that in 2018, I would experience fear on the basis of being Jewish in the United States. And yet, just over a week ago, I was horrified to learn of the massacre of 11 Jewish congregants – Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger – at a temple in Pittsburgh. This, in the aftermath of the Nazi march in Charlottesville only a year ago and the biggest rise in anti-Semitism this country has seen since, perhaps, the turn of the century. I was also horrified to learn of the attempted massacre at a church in Louisville that, when thwarted, ended with the murder of two African-Americans – Maurice Stallard and Vickie Lee Jones – at a supermarket. And late last week, there was yet another massacre, this time of two women – Maura Binkley and Dr. Nancy Van Vessem – at a yoga studio in Florida, ostensibly for being women. Othering, in all its forms, has proven time and time again to be life threatening.Read more
Following a multi-phased, nationwide search, I’m thrilled to announce that Terri D. Wright, Ph.D., MPH, will join us as vice president for program and community. Her first day will be February 16.Read more
As we approach the end of 2017, we reflect on what a pivotal year it has been, not only for the Meyer Foundation, but also for our region and our nation. This year brought no shortage of examples illustrating how our country’s greatest challenges affect people of color at uneven rates, and our region is no exception. A recent study from Georgetown University, for example, reaffirms what previous research has shown: that the robust DC economy is leaving the city’s longtime residents behind.Read more
In an update this past June, I shared how the Meyer Foundation is moving toward fully implementing our strategic plan and further deepening our commitment to addressing structural and systemic racism. As that message suggested, it has been a busy summer at Meyer, and the work continues.
I also shared at the time that, following the recent transitions of some of our valued and longtime staff members, the Foundation is in a unique position to realign and further develop a team that will support the goals and strategies of our strategic plan, as well as other urgent and evolving areas of work. Read more
Today, decades after my mother’s family came seeking refuge, the future of many hopeful refugees and immigrants is in limbo. As the daughter of an immigrant and a refugee, it’s especially painful for me to see families and children detained in airports, or sent back to the countries they’re fleeing. I’ve been thinking a lot about those families –their pain and their fears. And I’ve been wondering where are the silver linings? Read more
Last week, the Meyer Foundation and the Consumer Health Foundation (CHF) convened community members, advocates, and policymakers in the District to unpack the findings of the new Urban Institute digital feature, A Vision for an Equitable DC. The report, commissioned by Meyer and CHF, takes an in-depth look at the state of equity among the District’s black, white, and Hispanic residents using ward-level data. Read more
On October 18, the board of directors of the Meyer Foundation approved an unprecedented investment of $1 million to support the production and preservation of affordable housing in the Greater Washington region.Read more
I recently attended a meeting at my temple that focused on Ta-Nehisi Coates’s bestselling book, Between the World and Me—a personal exploration of racial history in the U.S. Members were interested in engaging in a conversation about our role as allies in moving racial equity forward in our community. As attendees raised their hands to contribute to the discussion, I found myself having so much I wanted to say, and yet feeling hampered in my ability to adequately convey my thoughts. While I did speak up, I know I did not have the right words.Read more
