The Washington Post, August 16, 2020: Mark Zuckerberg’s effort to disrupt philanthropy has a race problem
As Facebook faced criticism in recent months about the way its policies can harm Black people, Mark Zuckerberg pointed to his investments in criminal justice reform through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the philanthropic company he co-founded with his wife as a vehicle to funnel 99 percent of their Facebook stock, now worth roughly $80 billion, into charitable causes.
“I haven’t talked much about our work on this,” the chief executive wrote to his 116 million Facebook followers a week after George Floyd’s death, “but the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has been one of the largest funders, investing ~$40 million annually for several years in organizations working to overcome racial injustice.” He said he and his wife, pediatrician Priscilla Chan, “are committed to this work, and we expect to be in this fight for many years to come.”
To many Black employees at CZI, however, the organization’s goal of advancing justice has been compromised both by its internal practices and its approach to giving, according to recordings of company meetings, employee surveys, email, and interviews with current and former employees, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak for CZI. Some Black employees say that their voices have been marginalized and their expertise discounted. They also say CZI’s grant-making has left Black leaders and Black communities unsupported.
