Everyone has their own lane in the movement. Whether you’re the person on the ground canvassing, or the grant writer submitting proposals, or the funder advocating on behalf of certain organizations, we all have our lane. The folks sitting on boards for nonprofit organizations or philanthropic institutions are crucial figures– they need to be plugged into the community and ready to advance the cause of justice as an institutional north star. At the same time, it’s important for the community to know how to navigate the halls and positions of institutional power. In this episode, we discuss how positional power is an important lever for creating the conditions for Black folks to thrive.

In loving memory of Reggie Webb. Beloved husband, father and entrepreneur. (1948-2024)

Connecting community, philanthropy, and policy together isn’t an easy feat, but it’s necessary. Being able to bridge the three together successfully requires a secret sauce that our hosts and our guest, Karren Lane, most certainly have. How do you navigate differing agendas and a multitude of stakeholders when the community is watching?

Eradicating systemic and institutionalized racism isn’t the work of one organization or two, it’s about creating an ecosystem of power building organizations throughout the state (and country!) that work together to generate a movement. The California Black Freedom Fund and the Black Equity Collective are two examples of what empowering organizations with resources and community allows for maximum impact.

Community organizing has always been the most effective tool of the oppressed. Throughout our history and across our diaspora, Black folks have broken links in the chain of oppression and created new possibilities for Black liberation to take shape by developing grassroots leaders as strategists, activists, organizers and movement builders. In this episode, we highlight Pillars of the Community, an organization that embodies what it means to actualize the hopes and dreams of Black Californians experiencing the harshest forms of de facto and de jure oppression through the power of community organizing.

Thinking outside the box and bringing innovative solutions to philanthropy and investing are two ways that reimagining how capital gets deployed into Black communities will help us all thrive. Join us as we chat with Ashley D. Bell, Georgia-based entrepreneur, attorney and political advisor,, We'll explore strategies from rethinking how we approach grant-making to repositioning Black banks to be major players in real estate development and other capital community investments.

The conclusion of our interview with Guest Anthony Thigpenn

In the pilot episode, hosts discuss the meaning and vision of Thriving While Black, and how pioneers like Anthony Thigpenn, Founder and President of California Calls, have helped to create the political conditions for Black Californians to thrive and take their rightful seat in a multiracial democracy.

In the pilot episode, hosts discuss the meaning and vision of Thriving While Black, and how pioneers like Anthony Thigpenn, Founder and President of California Calls, have helped to create the political conditions for Black Californians to thrive and take their rightful seat in a multiracial democracy.

Trailer for Thriving While Black.