A Case Study:
Fifth Avenue Committee – Centering Racial Justice
In the 1970s, following the 20th Century’s Civil Rights Movement, anti-redlining efforts and its aftereffects of disinvestment and ‘urban renewal’ that left hundreds of vacant lots and abandoned buildings locally, neighbors along the Fifth Avenue corridor of Brooklyn came together.
This racially and socio-economically diverse group addressed housing issues, tenants’ rights, and commercial revitalization. They fought for local investment and a say in the future of their community. They were concerned about the quality and affordability of housing and the lack of green space. Along the way they formed Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC), now a 43-year-old organization and NeighborWorks America chartered member.
Like other Community Development Corporations (CDCs) formed at the time, they had an uphill battle. Yet hard work and resourcefulness led to many accomplishments. Strong leadership, engaged residents, along with collaborations and mergers, have produced award winning results that impact the Brooklyn communities FAC serves and influence policy citywide.
In 2019, Fifth Avenue Committee embarked on a journey to make its long-held commitment to racial justice more explicit in its work, both externally and internally. This was the start of a new, ongoing journey of discovery and adaptation.
To assist them in their exploration they called on Bonnie Mazza, a strategist who had worked with them for over five years. Bonnie’s fresh perspective, deep experience, and organizational skills brought the structure they needed to take on this extensive challenge.
Bonnie partnered with True North EDI for their expertise in “the design and development of human-centered practices, policies, and cultures” to help Fifth Avenue Committee strategize and plan for a more equitable future. Their support built upon trainings by Race Forward that key staff participated in.
To date, this work has resulted in the formation of an internal Race Equity Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Core Team that is helping to tackle big questions and shift organizational culture, agency-wide training, significant internal dialogue amongst staff and board, and the creation of a new strategic plan headlined by a goal to center racial justice in its mission and approach to help create a more just and equitable NYC. To achieve this goal, FAC will take the necessary steps to operate as a racially just organization and to ensure its programs and approach are free of systemic racism and advance racial justice. Carrying out this work will require shifts to the organizational structure, rigorous work on its theory of change to identify and commit to specific racial justice outcomes, building capacity of board and staff, and many other strategies.
Major organizational shifts take time. Bonnie, a member of the Association of Nonprofit Specialists, continues to provide implementation planning support to FAC as they embark on this journey and make the major organizational shifts required to do this work well.
