6th Annual President’ s Breakfast Highlights the Life and Work of Dr. Angela Davis
The 6th Annual President’ s Breakfast, themed Leveraging Philanthropy to Attain Social Justice for Racial Equity, was presented via Zoom on March 22nd. It was an opportunity for the University, under the leadership of President David Carlisle, to continue to apprise the University community and its many supporters about a crucial pillar of the CDU Advantage. The event also served as the kickoff of the CDU Leadership Summit on Health Equity and Social Justice, presented by the Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan.
Longtime social justice advocate Dr. Angela Davis, the embodiment of the mission of leveling the playing field for underrepresented persons in need of equitable treatment, was the perfect voice to engage in a discussion with Dr. Carlisle about such an essential matter. Their conversation, though limited by the constraints of a guest speaker’ s allotted time, was a singular opportunity to measure the theoretical construct of the quest for social equity alongside the boots on the ground avant-garde mentality that has driven Dr. Davis’ lifelong experience. It was as if the signature watchwords Time’ s Up! were pulsating throughout their conversation.
Given the general perception of Angela Davis’ achievements as a political activist, educator, and change agent, it was very inspirational to see spokespersons representing major enterprises acknowledge her contributions to the cause of social justice. Presenting sponsor Blue Shield of California’ s Promise Health Plan warmly expressed the appreciation that Dr. Davis had agreed to participate in this vital discussion.
Vital words of encouragement were also heard from Torrey Pines Bank, whose Executive Vice President Robert R. McAuslan lauded the University for its contributions to the community. It was clearly evident that such progressive, human-centered mission driven organizations understood that the event was an opportunity to practice a genuine, unadulterated brand of corporate citizenship.
Dr. Carlisle opened his remarks with a moment of silence. He asked the attendees to reflect on the lives of the Asian American women in Atlanta who had died the previous week at the hands of an assassin. Introducing the day’ s subject matter, the President cited the many accomplishments that the University has amassed, notably the $ 7.73 million gift by Bloomberg Philanthropy that allows enrolled medical students to participate in the effort to accelerate wealth accumulation and address systematic underinvestment in Black and Brown communities.
Dr. Carlisle defined the difference between philanthropy and charity. The terms are often used interchangeably, he said, because they involve giving money directly to people, and to nonprofit organizations that help people. However, there is a key difference. While charity is involved in providing immediate relief to help people, and often driven by emotions, philanthropy is more strategic and focused on helping people to solve their problems over the long term.
We are in an era of great change, he further noted. Referencing Angela Davis, he acknowledged that she has been in the forefront of the fight for social justice across a range of issues for more than 50 years. He noted that CDU has likewise been in the forefront of the fight for social justice since its inception.
Most recently, the University’ s significant role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic both through testing and vaccination in concert with the County of Los Angeles Department of Health, as well as CDU’ s documentation of its research findings regarding the
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