November 16, 2022
Washington D.C. — The UndocuBlack Network (UBN) has been announced as a recipient of a one-time grant from the Mackenzie Scott Foundation. This award is the largest the Network has received to date from an individual or an organization. The Network plans to engage in thoughtful, deliberate stewardship of the resources to develop projects and frameworks that focus on stabilizing, sustaining and strengthening the UndocuBlack Community.
The UndocuBlack Network is a multi-generational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources, and advocates to transform the realities of Black migrants to thrive and live life to the fullest. The Network has ushered in victories for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF), the first piece of legislation passed in the last twenty years to provide green cards to undocumented people. UBN has also fought for the continuation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as it faced termination in the courts and continues to fight for the legalization of all 11 million undocumented people. The Network has spearheaded powerful media narratives centering Black undocumented people while combatting the criminalization of Black lives through unjust deportation and detention. We do this work through some mental wellness lens, centering the dignity and well-being of our membership.
The Mackenzie Scott Foundation is a US-based foundation founded and led by Mackenzie Scott, a philanthropist, author and business woman who has been in the news for donating $8 billion in the past two years to nonprofit organizations.
UBN deeply appreciates this grant and how it will facilitate the work that we do in our community. As truth tellers, we also acknowledge that wealth of this magnitude and its giving vehicles are a byproduct of the stolen resources and exploitation of labor of Black and Indigenous communities around the world. By default, UndocuBlack's ability to accept and make use of this grant– even if for the purpose of continuing to fight systems of oppression and dismantling racism – is a privilege. We name and recognize that systems that foster structural inequalities are the same systems that motor force surplus wealth into philanthropy. We hope this vote of confidence in the UndocuBlack Community will inspire others to support our work to bring about true collective liberation.
“The UndocuBlack Network is elated about this grant award from the Mackenzie Scott Foundation,” says the UndocuBlack Network’s Executive Director Patrice Lawrence. “At the same time, we acknowledge that wealth of this magnitude is a result of continued exploitation of Black and Indigenous people around the world. UBN has always been fearless and visionary in our approach to advocating for our members and fighting for equitable and liberatory policies. We want our people to thrive and exist in a place of ease. We understand that sometimes the difference between an easeful existence and one riddled with fear and anxiety comes down to access to resources. This funding will enable us to develop creative solutions and continue carrying out the vital work we’ve been doing since 2016.”
This award recognizes the UndocuBlack Network's commitment, mission and work to advocate for and stand with its communities. To learn more about our work with the communities we serve and to stay engaged with the efforts these resources will support, visit the UndocuBlack Network at www.undocublack.org.
