What do you get for $83 billion?

I recently ran across a website claiming that Black Lives Matter (BLM) and similar organizations have received more than $83 billion since 2020. That is 83 billion, not million. There are questions one can ask about why some of the organizations were included in the analysis, but there is no way around the fact that many organizations promoting issues of racial justice in a similar manner as BLM have received a lot of funding over the past few years.

It is legitimate to ask what our society has gotten for this funding. Have we obtained more racial justice due to the efforts of these groups? Well, to get at that answer, I note that much of what these organizations attempt to do is a type of diversity training whereby the interests of people of color are promoted. The basic idea of many of these programs is to convince whites to become allies for racial minorities. Since we have research on the effects of such training, I can make some assertions about the effectiveness of funding these organizations.

If the goal of such funding is prejudice reduction, then I have bad news. Previous research indicates little if any, long-term prejudice reduction due to diversity training. If the goal is to hire more people of color in managerial positions, then you are in hard luck. Research shows that companies that have mandatory diversity training and that set up grievance committees wind up with fewer managers of color five years later. If we want to create a backlash against people of color, research shows that diversity training can produce that for us. It can also create an atmosphere where individuals perceive racial minorities as less competent than their white peers.

So, my expectation is that even with these tremendous resources, BLM and similar organizations will not achieve goals that reduce racial alienation in our society.

Perhaps previous research is not a valid indicator of the new efforts funded since 2020. It is possible that we have not had enough time for this latest round of funding to have an effect. While it is not realistic to see a lot of research on the effectiveness of this new funding, it is not unrealistic to hear of preliminary work linked to successes. So far, however, I have not seen such work. I am inclined to believe that, eventually, we will see similar dismal results from these new efforts that we have seen in previous research.

Perhaps this funding will be effective in pushing certain political agendas, but I have little hope that they will improve race relations. Indeed, most funds come from individuals interested in promoting a progressive political agenda. So, what we will get from $83 billion is not better race relations but the promotion of progressive political ideals.

But before conservatives get too mad about that reality, I have to ask a question: Where do conservatives provide resources to deal with racial issues? The effects of history and institutional racism are real. Just one of many possible examples of this reality is the fact that occupational racial discrimination has not decreased over the past 25 years. There are real issues that people of color want to have addressed, and the funding we have seen thus far from progressive groups, as ineffective as it is likely to be, is an attempt to address those problems. You cannot beat something with nothing.

For example, let me point you to Project H.O.O.D., an effort headed by Pastor Corey B. Brooks. This project is dedicated to fighting violence in some of the poorest areas of Chicago by building up those communities and providing resources to give the individuals in Chicago better options than more violence. He plans to raise $35 million to accomplish that goal. As a Christian with conservative theology, Pastor Brooks is not likely to pass the proper cultural litmus test put forth by the progressive funders of BLM and those like them. But while he has had some success fundraising, he has not yet reached his goal. In a society where more progressive sources can throw $83 billion to their answer to the problems created by historical and institutional racism, it should not be that hard to find $35 million from conservatives.

Of course, there are other Project H.O.O.D.s out there needing support. If political conservatives have difficulty finding those projects, they may consider starting their own programs. Or they may want to support research that promotes more collaborative approaches as opposed to a BLM approach as another viable way to impact racial alienation positively. Finding ways to promote a positive answer is necessary if political conservatives want to address the excesses of that BLM approach in a way that people of color can appreciate.

It is not enough to criticize efforts made by political progressives. Political conservatives should push an alternative vision and fund that vision. Resourcing a better alternative will place them in the discussion about racial alienation in a manner that is not just as nay-sayers. They can be in that discussion as those with a positive answer to offer. Given the ongoing racial tension in our society and the interest of all of us to overcome that tension, it is vital that conservatives take such positive steps rather than merely sit on the sidelines and criticize the left.