By Justin Laing | February 12, 2025 | Non reformist reforms, Racial Capitalism
A recent article on the front page of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (PG) headlined that the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) was facing a $7M deficit along with a 12% increase in its costs and a drop in overall revenue of 8% when compared to the pre-pandemic 2018-19 season. Still, the… Read More >
By Justin Laing | September 21, 2021 | Antiracism, Diversity Inclusion Equity, Research
Not too long ago, I led an evaluation of an arts diversity initiative in which a funder was evaluating the impact of a multi-year initiative intended to help arts organizations increase their level of diversity, equity, and inclusion. All but one of the organizations was predominantly White American led. I… Read More >
By Justin Laing | March 7, 2021 | Antiracism, Book/Media Review
Dr. Ibram Kendi’s “How to Be an Antiracist” is intended to be a relatively simple and straightforward book, which is both its strength and weakness. The book begins with a number of definitions: “antiracism”: ideas, policies, and practices that counteract racist ideas, policies, and practices; and racism: ideas, policies, and… Read More >
By Justin Laing | September 10, 2020 | Antiracism, Critical Philanthropy, Racial Capitalism
I think a lot about “framing”. “Framing” is what we do every day as we position our ideas with a particular rationale and context. It’s how we try to get people to see it “our way” and how others try to get us to see something “their way”. It’s the… Read More >
By Justin Laing | November 6, 2019 | Non reformist reforms
I was recently asked for a reading list on whiteness, race, racism (synonyms, all of them) and ended up writing a summary and synthesis of books. Whiteness and capitalism are inseparable in my understanding and so some of these, and the first one, are critiques of capitalism. The list got… Read More >