I come to you with the sad message that mainstream philanthropy is part of the problem in this country, not part of the solution. There are many fine people in the mainstream foundations, and they fund many fine programs. But the foundation world has been dominatedand is still dominatedby ideas that do not work. For the past 30 years, one of the central objectives of foundations has been to open opportunity for black Americans. That is a noble, marvelous objective.
More black men are in jail or prison today than in college.
A second objective of foundations has been to revitalize cities and their economies. Again, a noble objective. But New York City is bankrupt. Washington, D.C. is bankrupt. Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, and St. Louis have seen population declines of 25 to 30 percent.