The Inheritance of Courage

Mural by Thomas “Detour” Evans.

I am a benefactor of an inheritance of courage. Not the kind of inheritance that comes with a big check, a summer house in the Hamptons, or some fine jewelry from an aunt who “always meant well.” No, this inheritance runs deeper—it’s stamped in my DNA, whispered in my grandmother’s stories, and echoed in the prayers and protests of ancestors who did not have the luxury of giving up.

Courage is the currency I inherited. And beloved, let's keep it a buck—it spends everywhere. In boardrooms where philanthropy sometimes forgets the word “equity.” In classrooms where young leaders of color wrestle with ceilings still too low. In the streets where justice is too often delayed. At kitchen tables where mothers, like me, balance hope on one side of the plate and fear on the other.

But courage is not meant to sit in an account gathering dust. It’s not a “set it and forget it” CD. It’s an investment strategy—one that pays dividends in freedom, justice, and equality. And right now, it’s time to make a down payment on the future.

Our fight is not new, but it is now. The courage my grandmother carried into sit-ins, marches, and meetings is the same courage I must carry into convenings, grantmaking, and conversations that demand truth. And the same courage we—all of us—must pass along to the next generation. Because what good is an inheritance if it stops with me?

I want my sons and every young person watching to inherit more than the struggle. I want them to inherit strategies, solutions, endowments, equity, and institutions that not only keep the lights on but illuminate a path toward liberation. I want them to inherit a freedom that is sustainable, not conditional. A justice that is not negotiated, but guaranteed. An equality that is not aspirational, but operational.

So yes, I laugh, I mother, I fundraise, I convene, I organize, I write these blogs with a little humor and a lot of truth. But make no mistake—I am also making deposits. Deposits into a legacy account that must grow, compound, and overflow into the lives of those who come after us. Because courage is contagious, and inheritance is multiplied when we don’t just receive it—we add to it.

Now is the time. Let’s be bold enough to invest our courage, our 5Ts—our time, talent, treasure, testimony, and ties—into building not just what we need today, but what our children will deserve tomorrow. That, my friends, is how we honor the inheritance. And that’s how we create the kind of wealth no one can ever tax or take away.

And this is why I started the BRIC Fund. To take the inheritance of courage and translate it into resources, resilience, and real power for Black-led nonprofits and Black communities. Every day, I work to grow it because I know that when we invest in Black leadership and community-led solutions, we are not just sustaining today’s fight—we are seeding tomorrow’s freedom.

I invite you to invest your 5Ts into the BRIC Fund. Every contribution, every connection, every story shared is another deposit into the legacy account of justice and liberation. Together, we are building something that will outlive us, outshine obstacles, and outlast doubt.

So let’s keep adding to this inheritance. Not just for us, but for the beloved generations still to come.