On this episode of the weekly Fortt Knox podcast, Darren Walker talks to Jon Fortt about the importance of empathy and understanding in creating meaningful change.
Published on CNBC
Ford Foundation’s Darren Walker was born in poverty, and now leads an organization worth billions
By Jon Fortt
The key to understanding this moment in American history—in black history—is empathy.
That’s what Darren Walker is saying. One could argue that if anyone is positioned to understand this dizzying landscape, he is.
Walker grew up poor in rural Texas, became one of the first kids in the Head Start program, and made it big on Wall Street in the 1980s. Yet his true calling was even bigger: He’s now president at the Ford Foundation, an $11.2 billion philanthropic giant that’s aiming to address social justice and inequality around the globe.
The Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For more than 85 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
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