DARREN WALKER is president of the Ford Foundation, among the largest and most influential philanthropic institutions in the world. Since 2013, Darren has overseen more than $7 billion in grantmaking, while transforming the foundation, philanthropy, and promoting democratic values in the United States and around the globe. TIME has recognized him among their 100 Most Influential People and he has received twenty honorary degrees.

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...