By Lacey Robertson, The Seattle Medium
Black capitalism, or the access of Black communities to wealth and capital, is the newest focus of the University Washington’s Interrupting Privilege program, which seeks to provide communities and individuals with the tools to confront and interrupt power inequities in society.
According to Josh Griffin, program manager at Center for Communication, Difference, and Equity (CCDE), which is co-leading the effort, the center is seeking Seattle-based entrepreneurs and other community members to participate in classes and conversations for the examination of Black capitalism. There is no charge to participate.
The Interrupting Privilege program will help participants reflect on their own contributions to Black capitalism and facilitate conversations to collaboratively “generate tools for change,” according to the website.
“There’s a focus on Black capitalism to better understand how Black people understand capitalism, owning businesses, and how Black people put their money into Black communities,” Griffin said.
Past Interrupting Privilege programs included tokenism in the classroom, growing up as a Black woman, and microaggressions. Podcasts from early sessions were published here. In the podcasts, participants discuss experiences and brainstormed potential tools for change.
“It really is a way to be able to engage community members, usually minority group members, in different types of dialogue, and have them be able to sit and express their experiences and their truth,” Griffin said.
An Interrupting Privilege program typically runs over nine months, and begins with conversations between community members, followed by the CCDE’s research team of PhD students identifying recurring themes from the participants’ anecdotes. The process ends with all participants in the initial conversations convening for listening sessions.
The CCDE has started interviews for this year’s program, but are currently looking for more Black participants interested in Black capitalism.
Dr. Elba Moise, UW inclusion and community program manager at the Foster School of Business, participated in one of these initial conversations about Black capitalism.
“I first got involved with the CCDE through my mentor, Dr. Ralina Joseph,” Moise said. “I also have taken classes through them and became organically connected.” Joseph is the founding director of the CCDE, creator of the Interrupting Privilege program, associate dean for equity and justice in UW’s graduate school, and a UW Communication professor.
“Black capitalism is the access of Black communities to wealth and capital. The key words here are community, access, and collective,” Moise said.
This goes beyond just those who are business owners, though.
“It’s being able to think about ways we as individuals can support Black-owned businesses,” Moise said. “You can support by promoting, sharing on social media, and diversifying suppliers and vendors.”
The program is also intended as a space for self-reflection, Griffin said.
“My hope is for people to be open to these conversations, to lean into moments of tension that might make them uncomfortable, and to ask yourself, ‘Why?,” Griffin said. “Underneath all of that is to have a better understanding of what is Black capitalism on an individual level. How do I contribute to Black capitalism? How do I hinder Black capitalism?”
The program will be based out of Seattle, with a focus on how the local Black community understands Black capitalism. The CCDE has formed a partnership with the UW Foster School of Business to help find additional community members to contribute to the dialogue.
Christina Ting Fong, associate dean for inclusion and diversity at the Foster School of Business, also became involved with the CCDE through Joseph and the University of Washington Resilience Lab, she said. The lab provides UW students and faculty with tools to build self-awareness and respond to stress, according to their website.
Through her connections at Foster, Fong helped form the network of participants in the interview stage of the Black capitalism program.
“At Foster, we are really committed to holding space for these conversations because they are in line with our purpose statement,” Fong said. “We have the Foster ID framework, which sort of is a set of skills that we hope every Foster student will resonate with so that they can be more inclusive leaders and effective allies.”
By gathering different experiences of Black capitalism, the program intends to identify and dismantle racism built into societal structures.
“I hope these conversations help others see things from different points of views and help the communities feel connected to each other,” Fong said. “And for folks who don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it, for them to think about it more.”
Moise echoed this need for lasting change through exploration, conversation and listening.
“I’m hoping that it can support awareness, support businesses that have capital, and point towards how individuals and organizations can work to support and build community and new resources in the state of Washington and beyond,” Moise said.
If you are interested in participating in the CCDE’s Interrupting Privilege program, contact Josh Griffin at jeg425@uw.edu.
