The Idea of America

Darren Walker has lived the promise of America. Born to a single mother in a Louisiana charity hospital, the pride of Head Start and public schools in rural East Texas, Walker serves today as the tenth President of the Ford Foundation, among the largest private foundations in the United States. Since 2013, he has overseen more than $7 billion in grantmaking, while transforming philanthropy and inspiring conversations about and commitments to democratic values and institutions around the world. As Walker writes, “I have lived on both sides of American inequality. And I know, all too personally, that the distance between the two has never been greater.” In The Idea of America: Reflections on Inequality, Democracy, and the Values We Share, Walker argues that we can narrow our widening divides by rediscovering our common aspirations and common good. With an original foreword by President William Jefferson Clinton, this prescient, timely compendium introduces us to an essential leader of and for our moment—in his own words—through his most essential reflections, essays, and speeches. Across 97 selected pieces, many published here for the first time, Walker shares from his: Uniquely American story and extraordinary life's journey Bold leadership of the Ford Foundation, whose efforts and assets he marshaled to uproot inequalities of all kinds Audacious vision for a philanthropy that prioritizes justice beyond generosity—and that practices a new Gospel of Wealth for our new gilded age Lifelong passion for arts and culture, wellsprings of empathy and of social change Trailblazing advocacy for a more democratic capitalism, which ensures that where markets lead, justice follows Urgent reaffirmation of America's enduring promise—that from many, we are one, and that all deserve dignity, fairness, and opportunity Ultimately, Walker calls for courageous, moral leadership from us all—challenging us to step back from the extremes, to lean into nuance and complexity, and to build longer bridges. “Hope,” Walker affirms, “is the oxygen of democracy.” The Idea of America gives powerful testimony to all that is possible “if we renew our fidelity to the values that bind us, both despite and because of our differences.”

Foreword xxv President Bill Clinton Part I My American Story and Our American Journey Finding My Way Home 9 Statement upon Appointment as President of the Ford Foundation New York, New York July 25, 2013 Build a Bridge to a Better World 14 Address to The University of Texas at Austin Class of 2015 Austin, Texas May 23, 2015 The Power of the Mighty Sunflower 20 Address to The University of Texas at Austin Law School Class of 2016 Austin, Texas May 21, 2016 Activism Is Our Rent 25 Address to the Sarah Lawrence College Class of 2018 Bronxville, New York May 21, 2018 A Proud Son of the American South 31 June 28, 2021 Healing and Serving the World 34 Sermon to Church of the Heavenly Rest New York, New York October 23, 2022 Repeal of Affirmative Action Is Only the Beginning 41 The New York Times June 30, 2023 Part II Uprooting Inequality and Moving The Ford Foundation Forward Enduring Mission, New Vision 49 Inaugural Address to the Ford Foundation Community New York, New York September 9, 2013 Taking Stock, Looking Ahead 56 2014 Annual Message September 2, 2014 Work in Detroit Doesn’t End with Grand Bargain 62 Detroit Free Press November 19, 2014 What’s Next for the Ford Foundation: A Blueprint for Social-Justice Philanthropy 65 June 11, 2015 All In on Detroit 72 with Kofi Appenteng Detroit Free Press June 15, 2015 Moving the Ford Foundation Forward 75 November 8, 2015 Putting FordForward into Action 84 June 30, 2016 Ignorance Is the Enemy Within 91 2016 Annual Message September 12, 2016 Unleashing the Power of Endowments: The Next Great Challenge for Philanthropy 99 Stanford Social Innovation Review April 5, 2017 A $1 Billion Experiment in Philanthropic Investing 109 The Wall Street Journal April 7, 2017 Aligning Our Investments and Our Values 112 October 18, 2021 Healing the Breach: The Ford Family and Ford Foundation 116 With Edsel B. Ford ii Fortune December 5, 2024 Part III A New Gospel of Giving for Our New Gilded Age Rejecting the Tyranny of Strategy 125 Stanford Social Innovation Review May 15, 2014 Toward a New Gospel of Wealth 128 2015 Annual Message October 1, 2015 Maintaining the Mobility Escalator Together 136 Statement upon Election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Cambridge, Massachusetts October 18, 2015 Why Giving Back Isn’t Enough 140 The New York Times December 18, 2015 Philanthropy Is an American Idea and Birthright 144 Time June 30, 2016 The Coming of Hope: A Vision for Philanthropy in the New Year 147 2019 New Year’s Message January 9, 2019 The Hard Work of Hope: How We Move Forward 155 2020 New Year’s Message January 22, 2020 In Support of Philanthropic Pluralism 160 with Heather Templeton Dill, Kathleen Enright, Sam Gill, Brian Hooks, and Elise Westhoff The Chronicle of Philanthropy April 13, 2023 Finding Philanthropy’s Forgotten Founder 165 The Atlantic September 9, 2024 Part IV The Art of Democracy Open and Free: On Arts, Democracy, and Inequality 177 Address to the Association of Art Museum Directors Mexico City, Mexico January 26, 2015 The Imperative of Diversity in Arts and Culture 184 Introduction of Partnership with New York City Department of Cultural Affairs New York, New York January 27, 2015 On the Art of Change 188 Skoll World Forum Oxford, United Kingdom April 17, 2015 The Detroit Institute of Arts Belongs to the People— as Does the City of Detroit 193 Ford Foundation Board Meeting Detroit, Michigan June 16, 2015 Our Nation’s Most Precious Heritage 195 Address to the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities Washington, dc September 10, 2015 Yes Justice, Yes Peace: The Role of Art in Confronting Inequality 201 Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture Rothko Chapel Houston, Texas October 3, 2016 The Art of Democracy: Creative Expression and American Greatness 206 Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy The Kennedy Center Washington, dc March 20, 2017 Celebrating Democracy’s Art 218 Address to the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies The United States Department of State Washington, dc April 16, 2018 Museums Need to Step Into the Future 222 The New York Times July 26, 2019 Through Art, Hope—and Through Hope, Justice 226 Address to the Bennington College Class of 2021 Bennington, Vermont May 28, 2021 The Urgency of Art: Art and Justice During a Time of Crisis 232 Rothschild Foundation Lecture The Royal Academy of Arts London, England November 7, 2023 Part V Democratic Capitalism: Economic Opportunity and Shared Prosperity Where Markets Lead, Justice Must Follow 247 Address to the Presidio Graduate School Class of 2015 San Anselmo, California May 30, 2015 Internships Are Not a Privilege 253 The New York Times July 15, 2016 Building Inclusive Economies in an Era of Inequality 256 Address to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Summit on Inclusion, Innovation, and Resilience Paris, France November 22, 2016 On the Future of Work(ers) 261 October 1, 2018 The Value of What Matters 267 Address to the IE University, Madrid, Class of 2019 Madrid, Spain July 19, 2019 How to Save Capitalism from Itself 273 Fast Company October 17, 2019 Are You Willing to Give Up Your Privilege? 278 The New York Times June 25, 2020 In Response 50 Years Later: The “Subversive Doctrine” of Milton Friedman 282 As Submitted The New York Times September 14, 2020 Shared Company Ownership May Be the Missing Path to the American Dream 285 with Pete Stavros Fortune August 11, 2022 AI Is Changing Everything— and We Need New Guardrails 288 with Hemant Taneja The Washington Post March 28, 2023 Part VI The Covid- 19 Crisis: Extraordinary Times, Extraordinary Measures A Note from Home 295 March 20, 2020 Why Foundations Like Mine Need to Give More to Stave Off the Collapse of Vital Nonprofits 300 The Chronicle of Philanthropy June 8, 2020 Extraordinary Times, Extraordinary Measures 304 June 11, 2020 To End the Pandemic, Every Business Leader Must Put Worker Health and Equity First 311 Fortune February 23, 2021 Rebuilding Our Post- COVID World Together 314 March 24, 2021 An Equitable Vaccine Rollout Must Prioritize the Most Vulnerable 319 The Washington Post April 6, 2021 How to End Global Vaccine Inequality 322 with Charlize Theron Time October 6, 2021 The Stubborn Persistence of Vaccine Inequality 326 Foreign Affairs November 2, 2021 Part VII From An American Century To Inclusive Global Engagement Democracy Has No Finish Line 335 Address to Ford Foundation Trustees Symposium Johannesburg, South Africa February 11, 2014 A New Global Era of Urban Disruption 340 Address to UNHABITAT, World Urban Forum 7 Medellín, Colombia April 7, 2014 How Can We Help You? 345 2015 CIVICUS State of Civil Society Report July 8, 2015 Old Money, New Order: American Philanthropies and the Defense of Liberal Democracy 354 Foreign Affairs October 15, 2016 Supporting Ukraine and the Values of Democracy 365 March 9, 2022 Building a More Inclusive Global Order 370 The New York Times September 19, 2022 Part VIII Out of Many, One: Why Difference Need Not Yield Division The Opposite of Inequality Is Justice 379 Address to the Hostos Community College Class of 2015 South Bronx, New York, New York June 4, 2015 Choosing E Pluribus Unum 383 Address to the University of Vermont Class of 2019 Burlington, Vermont May 19, 2019 Confronting Anti- Asian Violence 389 March 17, 2021 Building Multiethnic, Multiracial, Pluralist Democracies 391 Statement upon Appointment into the Order of the British Empire New York, New York March 22, 2023 Turning the Rising Tide of Anti- Semitism 394 September 15, 2023 Holding Fast to Our Shared Humanity 397 October 22, 2023 The Democratic Values That Bind Us Together 399 Address to the American University of Beirut Class of 2024 Beirut, Lebanon June 8, 2024 Part IX The Promise of America A New Testament of Hope 407 Expanded Version December 15, 2014 What Makes Us Exceptional: The Act of Perfecting, Not the Fact of Perfection 415 Address to the Hunter College Class of 2016 New York, New York January 21, 2016 The Power of Privilege 422 Address to the Bowdoin College Class of 2016 Brunswick, Maine May 27, 2016 Let America Be America Again 427 2017 New Year’s Message January 4, 2017 Justice Over Greatness: A New Year’s Reflection 432 2018 New Year’s Message January 17, 2018 With Four Freedoms, Four Responsibilities: A Defense of Democratic Values 441 Expanded from Addresses to the Classes of 2017 at Michigan State University, Simmons College, Oberlin College, and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies February 2018 Democracy Is a Threat to White Supremacy 478 January 7, 2021 The Dawn Is Ours 480 January 22, 2021 Inclusion Is Patriotism of the Highest Order 482 The Washington Post July 2, 2021 Jefferson’s Republic, 246 Years On 485 Rededication of the Burial Ground for Enslaved People Monticello, Virginia June 17, 2022 These Truths We Hold 489 The New York Times July 4, 2022 Part X In Celebration: Profiles in Love and Leadership My David: A Love Story 499 Read by Anna Deavere Smith New York, New York February 23, 2019 John Lewis: A Legacy of Good Trouble 505 July 18, 2020 The Resolve and Righteousness of Ruth Bader Ginsburg 507 September 19, 2020 Standing on the Broad Shoulders of Vernon Jordan 509 March 2, 2021 Celebrating the Remarkable Legacy of Franklin Thomas 511 December 23, 2021 Franklin Thomas, Giant of Justice and Generosity 513 Remarks in Remembrance New York, New York January 9, 2022 Vartan Gregorian: The Philanthropist’s Philanthropist 516 Tribute at Carnegie Hall New York, New York April 13, 2022 Unafraid, Unbowed, and Unapologetic: The Life and Legacy of Judy Heumann 519 March 6, 2023 Harry Belafonte: Firefighter for Justice 522 April 25, 2023 The Gift and the Grace of Alma Powell 524 Tribute at the Kennedy Center Washington, dc October 25, 2024 Cecile Richards, Champion for Justice, Forever Undaunted 529 Tribute at the Ford Foundation New York, New York February 1, 2025 Part XI A Call for Courageous, Moral Leadership A Call for Moral Courage in America 537 2017 Annual Message September 6, 2017 In Defense of Nuance 546 2019 Annual Message September 9, 2019 The Imperative of Moral Leadership 551 2020 Annual Message October 7, 2020 Democracy at a Crossroads: A Call for Courageous Leadership 558 Benjamin Menschel Distinguished Lecture at Cooper Union New York, New York March 4, 2024 There Is No Leadership Without Risk 568 The New York Times October 20, 2024 Acknowledgments 573 Credits 579 About the Author 581