Dear friends,
In these heavy times of resurging pandemic, catastrophic floods, accelerating income inequality, deep political division, and persistent structural racism, we are reminded again and again that our best way forward is to rely on each other for mutual support and collective action, guided by leaders who are called to serve.
Back in June 1933, Tracy McGregor was invited to address the National Conference of Social Work being held in Detroit. At that darkest moment in the Great Depression, the brutal shortcomings of the economy, glaring societal disparities, and pervasive, lethal racism were indisputably laid bare. Acknowledging the times, Tracy drew upon his 40-year career as a social worker and reformer to offer a talk entitled Toward a Philosophy of the Inner Life, which concluded as follows (shortened for brevity):
Of the social worker – if she has felt the supreme worth of the inner ethical state, set herself whole-heartedly to preserve the integrity of her own mental and spiritual life; learned to keep her soul open to truth and wisdom, revealed even by those who are most distressed; if she has taught herself to be courageous toward life’s difficult and hard thrusts; and been freed from egoism which expresses itself in undue grasping for money and praise; then she will be not only an investigator and unraveller of personal tangles and a conveyor of relief, but an encourager, a teacher and a healer. Through interchange between her own and another’s personality, the result will appear to have been caught by the one rather than taught by the other.
Tracy recognized that at its best, serving others is hard and highly personal work – that those who are called bring their whole selves to the task; engage with others on a deep level that requires authenticity and trust; constantly draw upon their own inner strength; and must tend to their own self-care. These insights still speak to us – particularly in these hard times.
Every day, servant-leaders who embody the qualities that Tracy described are hard at work across Detroit. For our part, we are seeking out and supporting their efforts and leadership more broadly than we have in the past. Recognizing our own limitations, we are also giving resources for redistribution by networks of community leaders, who collectively decide where funds can be used to bring relief, regeneration and new ideas to life. Finally, we are providing cash and flexible funding for individuals whose acute barriers to a better life are monetary, not lack of agency. And in all of our work, we aspire to learn from and support Black and brown leaders embedded in community.
There is no shortage of life-saving and life-giving work in Detroit. I encourage you to check out and support our grant partners. You will be inspired.
But folks are tired. So we are also listening for what might be keeping our community’s leaders from taking care of themselves. We’ve been humbled to support some efforts that attend to the needs of local leaders to rest and recharge, and we look to do more in the months ahead. Let’s all come together to safeguard the leaders who take care of us, and on whom we’ve heavily depended.
In closing, I’d like to express my ongoing gratitude to our new and longstanding partners, our trustees and our team, who all continue to give and serve so generously. I’d also like to welcome our newest Trustees, Kristi D. Plain and Dr. Felix M. Valbuena, and welcome back Trustee Sheilah P. Clay. Together, with all your gifts, your big hearts and passion for our community, we keep moving forward.
Kate Levin Markel
President
