Just Matters

The people responsible for the safety and health of our loved ones are paid less than parking lot attendants, and rarely receive health insurance or other benefits. According to PHI, home care workers in the US, like Vilma, are 89% female and make a median annual income of $13,300.

Privilege is very comfortable. But fighting the kind of inequality that leads to great suffering for so many will require disrupting that privilege, and breaking down some of the barriers that enable and preserve it.

Darren Walker reflects on four of his commencement speeches, addressing how around the world, democracy and democratic values are under siege, and our responsibilities to protect democracy. 

The global refugee crisis poses a range of challenges to host countries but also economic and cultural opportunities. Policy solutions that ensure refugees’ dignity and help build their skills, talents, and assets will ensure that migrants can live full lives and contribute to their new communities.

Attitudes around drug use are changing and the "War on Drugs" has failed—especially in communities of color. Updated policy is needed to create a more humane drug policy. 

Bringing the Truth Home tells the story of the 34 miners shot down in Marikana during their strike for a living wage in 2012, attempting to right the prevailing narrative. 

US Olympic medalist and entrepreneur Ibtihaj Muhammad on her experience as a woman of color, a Muslim American, and a female athlete today

It has now been a year since the courageous environmental activist and indigenous leader Berta Cáceres was murdered in Honduras, and those responsible still have not been brought to justice.

The power of the Women’s March can't be sustained without people coming together to resist the sources not only of their own oppression but also of each other’s.

How can creative and documentary work help build a fairer and more just society?

We need an immigrant rights movement that decreases fear and expands opportunities for all.

10 pressing tech issues that exist at the nexus of technology and social justice.

In a New Year's message, Darren Walker reminds us that we share a human aspiration to live in dignity.

The Ford Foundation's Elizabeth Alexander speaks with actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith about Smith's new play, Notes from the Field: Doing Time in Education, examining the school-to-prison pipeline.

Today’s divisive climate makes it more urgent than ever to lift up vibrant art and creative expression that unifies and humanizes people through stories, art, and cultural practice.

The Ford Foundation recognizes four grantees that recently received special awards for their work and dedication to advancing human rights

Stereotypes and stigma make black female students vulnerable to mistreatment and criminalization in school.

Darren Walker writes about finding hope amid the global challenges of 2016.

America Divided, a new documentary series from EPIX, explores narratives around inequality in education, housing, healthcare, labor, criminal justice and the political system.

South African cities illustrate how urban policies can be effectively implemented but also destructive to the communities they should be serving.

The Ford Foundation recaps episode 3 of America Divided, a docu-series about rising inequality in the United States.

The Ford Foundation recaps episode 2 of America Divided, a docu-series about rising inequality in the United States.

The first episode of America Divided, a new documentary series from EPIX, explores three issues of American inequality: our nation's broken criminal justice system, the Flint water crisis, and housing issues in New York City. 

Javier Ciurlizza, the Ford Foundation’s Andean Region representative, discusses the strategy behind the opening of a new regional headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia, inequality in Colombia, the historic peace agreement, and what’s ahead for the region.

El 5 de septiembre de 2016, la Fundación Ford abrirá una nueva oficina regional en Bogotá (Colombia), la cual se convertirá en la sede central de nuestras labores en la Región Andina. Javier Ciurlizza, director de la fundación para esta región, habla sobre la estrategia que motivó el traslado, así como la desigualdad en Colombia, el histórico acuerdo de paz y lo que le espera a la región en el futuro.

Big data drives much of our daily lives, but without proper oversight, the use of data by government agencies can exacerbate existing inequality and harm communities. 

Real change will require hard work by every one of us who values fairness and safety. Activists must be willing to sit down with police and politicians to propose specific solutions. Police officials must listen and find the will to implement them.

The Movement for Black Lives has created an opportunity for philanthropy to see and learn from new and dynamic forms of social justice leadership and infrastructure.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Lee-Anne Walters, key players in exposing the Flint water crisis, discuss the root causes of the crisis and implications for other cities across America.

Unlike traditional scholarships based primarily on academic achievement, social justice fellowships use non-traditional ways to recruit talented individuals and extend higher education opportunities to leaders from marginalized communities.

America’s racial demographics are changing and there are major implications for elections and the political process.

Author Steve Phillips offers some bold ideas to address inequality and close America's racial wealth gap

Upcoming censuses in Colombia and Peru present opportunities for greater inclusion, for every person to count and be counted.

With increasing xenophobic political rhetoric and brazen incidents of violence against American Muslim, South Asian, and Arab communities, the Ford Foundation hosted a dialogue with leaders to strategize ways to advance inclusion. Here are the highlights from the discussion.

An interview with the filmmaker of Wilhemina's War, the story of an African American grandmother living in the rural south and fighting to help her granddaughter survive the health risks and social stigma of living with HIV.

To mark Black History Month, we asked three racial justice advocates to reflect on what it means to commemorate and celebrate black history in a moment when racial justice is at the center of the national conversation.

While tipping remains a favored practice in the United States, it has created a system of unfair pay that disproportionately affects women and people of color—a system that has roots in America’s ugly history of slavery and racial discrimination.

Interview with filmmaker Stanley Nelson on his Black Panthers documentary and its relevance to #BlackLivesMatter and racial tensions today.

Ford staff recount their most memorable social justice moments from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Foundation staff weigh in on Obama's final State of the Union, and  his takes on criminal justice reform, raising the minimum wage, climate change, discrimination, and inequality

Michelle Alexander speaks candidly to Ford Foundation staff about the state of racial justice in America.

Demos President Heather McGhee asks whether it is enough to bend the arc of justice, or if it needs to break.

Farhana Khera, President of Muslim Advocates, discusses the need to build coalitions with other movements to bend the arc of justice.

Author and activist Cida Bento has been named one of the top "diversity figures in public life" by The Economist.

Program officer Kirsten Levingston remembers Julian Bond as a professor and mentor, on a mission seeking racial justice in America.

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, Ford Foundation reflects on the progress and philanthropy's investment in New Orleans and the work ahead.

Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, pays tribute to civil rights leader Julian Bond.

Education and voting are fundamental rights, and they’re also essential opportunities. So when a federal appeals panel ruled against a strict voter ID law in Texas this week—deeming it discriminatory and in violation of the Voting Rights Act—it was an encouraging sign. It was also evidence that there’s still a serious need for our 50-year-old civil rights law. And that disenfranchisement doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

People incarcerated in federal and state prisons will be eligible to receive federal aid to take the college courses that will prepare them to be thoughtful, responsible, engaged members of their communities—and help keep them from returning to prison.

Our support for the student power model and its movements is an investment in the future of social change.

There is genuine momentum to examine justice issues and bipartisan interest in reassessing corrections at both the state and federal level.

As we celebrate Independence Day, we reflect on the lessons about working for freedom and justice over the past months.

Darren Walker shares his reflections from the celebration in Selma.

A group from Ford traveled to Selma to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Darren Walker offers his reflections: in light of the 2014 shootings of young black men, there is still hope.

Program office Eric Ward explains why now is a pivotal moment for racial justice.

How can we rethink safety, crime, and victimization so resources can be redirected to structures that support individuals, families, and communities instead of trapping them?

Program Officer Eric Ward shares articles and resources from the Ferguson protests.