As you can see by the logo, Leslie and I have now created a foundation for racial equity to honor and extend Ken Karst's legacy. The website is here. The type of projects we plan on supporting will be good for the climate, bring people of all races together, and serve a broad need in poor areas. For instance (pre-foundation), we gave to the project Keep Growing Detroit which helps to address the problem of the food desert that is urban Detroit (though, because of projects like this, that city is moving quickly towards a much better food future.) They are not only farming and raising healthy local food, but they are teaching others to farm or garden and giving them the means to do it.
What Ken focused on academically was how to ensure opportunity and full citizenship for all, given our country's failure to do so for most of the United States history. This failure left many people behind, and it is those communities who will be the focus of the Foundation. And our vision of racial equity absolutely does include all who were left behind. Many whites have also been the victim of our tax and other economic policies that have hurt all poor people, while giving billions to a small segment of society. The Foundation will support causes that help everyone who has been the victim of these policies, and we are working with other like-minded groups towards broad-base community solutions.
The first initiative of the Foundation has been to endow a scholarship in Ken’s name at the UCLA School of Law, which will exist in perpetuity. It is important both to us and to the law school that the students selected to receive this scholarship (who must be in need of financial aid) demonstrate those traits possessed by Ken—not only academic excellence and a commitment to racial equity, but also a belief in community, tolerance, civility, openness, listening, generosity, and kindness. As UCLA law professor Adam Winkler said of Ken at his memorial, Ken’s intent as a teacher “was not to mold people to his view, but to open them up to the views of others.”
Good thinkers and writers do matter, particularly if they have the characteristics that Ken possessed. And while I have no expectations that anyone will do so, feel free to contribute to the fund here: Kenneth L. Karst Endowed Scholarship in Law
Coda:
So, that's what I've been doing. I have to admit that it does have a shaggy dog story element. Basically, people often ask what's going on with me. Since the beginning of this decision to make the foundation, I have been very busy working on it, as well as many other already existing pursuits. But a starting a foundation is not something one can casually drop into a conversation. On the other hand, it's hard to tell the backdrop without, perhaps, going on a bit long. Which is to say, I haven't figured out my elevator pitch.
When I had a car accident in high school, I made copies of the story of why my face was messed up to pass out so I didn't have to recount it over and over again. I have used that as a template from then on. So, for instance, when I got the throat cancer, I told people to just read the blog I'd written about the experience.
So, basically my motivation for this particular blog series was to be able to have this conversation:
“What's going on with you, Robin?”
“I'm very busy.”
And if they pursue the conversation, then I can just send them a link to my blog! Voilà!
And for those who actually read the whole thing, thank you!! Any questions?
1 comment:
YOU HAVE BEEN BUSY
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