Resource Library
Ryan Easterly shares how disability justice has influenced his journey as a Black disabled leader in philanthropy.
“Leadership of the Most Impacted”: Black Philanthropy Month and Disability Justice with Ryan Easterly
August 29, 2024
The 2024 theme for Black Philanthropy Month, occurring every August and founded by Jacqueline Bouvier Copeland, is Afro-Futures of Giving. And, as Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha reminds us, the future is disabled. So as Black Philanthropy Month 2024 draws to a close, we asked Ryan Easterly, executive director of WITH Foundation and co-chair of the Presidents’ Council of the Disability & Philanthropy Forum, to share how disability justice has influenced his journey as a Black disabled leader in philanthropy.
How has Disability Justice supported your vision of philanthropy’s role in a more equitable future for Black disabled communities?
“My vision for effective philanthropy and a more equitable existence for Black disabled people, centers on disability justice. The disability justice principle, ‘leadership of those most impacted,’ is especially poignant. Black disabled people need more representation on both sides of philanthropy. Not only do we need more Black disabled leaders in the professional grantmaking sector as trusted decision-makers, but more efforts and work that are led by Black and BIPOC disabled people should be funded. When philanthropy centers the leadership of the most impacted, everyone benefits.”
– Ryan Easterly, Executive Director, WITH Foundation
Who are the leaders and/or ancestors whose work has contributed to your own leadership in philanthropy?
“Darren Walker, Yoshiko Dart, and Stacey Milbern are each individuals who have shaped my work and leadership in philanthropy. I am deeply thankful for Darren Walker and how he has advanced social justice. His commitment to sharing his and Ford’s own journey related to disability inclusion, rights, and disability justice has been significant in supporting the shift we have seen in recent years. Yoshiko Dart, who carries forward the legacy of her late husband, Justin Dart, has been a pivotal figure in the disability rights movement. I appreciate how supportive she is of leaders with disabilities – especially young leaders with disabilities – and the ways she supports that leadership and changemaking is experienced in a variety of ways. Stacey Milbern was one of the pioneers of the Disability Justice movement and framework. I am thankful for her commitment to centering the experiences of disabled people of color and queer/gender-nonconforming individuals. I am mindful of her constant advice to me that philanthropy does its best work when there are few or no barriers to funding work being led by disabled people of color and queer/gender-nonconforming individuals with disabilities. The work and examples of Darren, Yoshiko, and Stacey are important to me, and I hope their influence is apparent in my work within philanthropy.”
Ready to learn more about the intersection of Blackness, disability, and philanthropy?
Resources from the Disability & Philanthropy Forum
Reflections on Ableism, Anti-Blackness, and Honoring Black Disabled Ancestors (Podcast) – Dr. Sami Schalk, associate professor in the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies at UW-Madison and author of Black Disability Politics, discusses Black disabled activism and why it’s essential to fund the groundbreaking work of Black disabled folks.
Black and Disabled: I Have Lived in the Shadows (Blog) – The Forum’s Senior Program and Communications Director, Gail Fuller, shares about her journey to accepting her identity as a Black woman with a non-apparent disability while facing ableism, racism, and misogyny in the philanthropic sector.
Disabled Black Women and the “Strong Black Woman” Stereotype (Video) – Disability advocate, author, and speaker Heather Watkins discusses the destructive effects of the “Strong Black Woman” stereotype on disabled Black women and illustrates why intentional communal care and support must replace the burdensome stereotype
Resources from the Philanthropic Sector
The Black Disabled Liberation Project – Created in a partnership between the Black-Led Movement Fund and Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy, this project is a co-funding initiative to resource at the overlapping gap and intersections of disability and Blackness.
Moving from Despair to Joy: Reclaiming Pride as a Black Trans Disabled Person – Rainier Miles shares how he brings pride in his Black, trans, and disabled identities to grantmaking in their role as Program Associate of the Black Trans Fund, an incubated project of Groundswell Fund.
About Ryan
Ryan Easterly (he/him) serves as Executive Director of WITH Foundation. Ryan is an experienced grantmaker, strategist, and advocate. He has worked in philanthropy for more than a decade. He served in several roles at The HSC Foundation from 2007 to 2015, including Manager of the National Youth Transitions Initiative. Outside of his work in grantmaking, he has also worked within the federal sector and on community outreach and advocacy efforts. He has served as an expert on a variety of issues including education, leadership development, employment, and healthcare impacting communities of color, the foster care system, and the LGBTQ+ community.