The January 2024 Anabaptist World featured the INSPIRE campaign, which invites White people who have benefitted from discriminatory systems to pledge 1% of their net worth to support initiatives like Black home ownership and business investment. David Bucher, an INSPIRE board member, gives an update. — Editor

After more than four years of planning, INSPIREquity launched our clearinghouse website, theINSPIREcampaign.org, the week before the presidential inauguration. It is depressing and dizzying to think about how much has changed since then. A lot of good work nationwide that focused on diversity, equity and inclusion has been defunded or destroyed.

We remain committed to working to close the racial wealth gap. INSPIREquity exists to support each of us in holding ourselves accountable to values the current administration hopes to erase. It also exists to connect us to each other, so that we can chip away at the racial inequality that was baked into our country’s foundation. This is a challenging time to push antiracism efforts, but we can encourage a most necessary movement as an antidote.

If you are already donating to groups working to close the racial wealth gap, I invite you to pledge at theINSPIREcampaign
.org  so that others can find and support this crucial work. If you are thinking about donating, I invite you to pledge so that we can support you in turning your thoughts into action. If giving money isn’t how you are showing up right now, I invite you to sign up for our email list or respond to our project organizer, Maria (maria@the
INSPIREcampaign.org), to share experiences and ideas that might help us build this beloved community and deepen its impact.

David Bucher, Spokane, Wash.