Q&A: Yazeed Moore on ‘shoe leather philanthropy’ and building collective movements in Detroit

This interview was conducted and written by Shardonay Feggins. It is the final article in a series of nine stories funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that aims to highlight stories written by emerging writers in Detroit.

This is sponsored content in collaboration with W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Yazeed Moore, newly appointed director of Michigan programs at W.K. Kellogg Foundation, describes his lifelong investment into philanthropy as a “birthright.” He grew up watching his mother babysit the neighborhood kids and provide resources for the people around her, which inspired his own journey.

Starting as an intern in the year 2000 with W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Moore, for over 20 years, continues his philanthropic work by managing the foundation’s efforts in Detroit in three integrated sections: early childhood education, employment and health equity.

Moore sees commonalities between his hometown of Gary, Indiana and Detroit; both cities received an influx of Black residents from the South during the Great Migration and encountered economic downturns due to declining auto industries. This fact has motivated Moore to focus on helping Black residents see themselves as a part of the city’s revival.

How did you start your career in philanthropy, and what keeps you working in the field?

Moore: When I think about growing up, my parents and my grandparents have always been philanthropic. They might not have had the financial resources, but they were always philanthropic with their time. My parents would let Mrs. Jones next door borrow a cup of sugar. That is philanthropic because Mrs. Jones did not have it. My mother watched the neighborhood kids, so people always ate at our house. From that aspect, I was born with this philanthropic spirit but did not understand it until I got into this work. It all comes together by giving people the opportunity to live their best lives by improving conditions, outcomes, and programs that allow them to do just that.

You described your work as “shoe leather philanthropy” and that the community knows best what they need regarding resources. What does that mean to you?

Moore: We do not do this work behind a desk. We do this work out in the world and with the community. When I talk about “shoe leather philanthropy,” it is letting your soles hit the pavement and walking alongside and partnering with the community. This work is best done when you are out in the community, discussing ideas and strategies to best position people and move them forward. We also create spaces for the community to partner with us and help.

If we are looking at approaches that could improve their lives, it is best that they are a part of the design. This work does not happen in a vacuum. Partnering with the community makes the work much better because it allows you to look at the lived experiences of people shaping those interventions. Sometimes, you might have policy and programmatic missteps because they have been created without considering the lived experience of people.

Since working with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation since 2014, what are some of the most impactful experiences you have had working with the community?

Moore: We are proud of the work we are doing around our Hope Starts Here initiative in Detroit, which is about creating a better ecosystem to create the early childhood system that we know children need right to get them their best start.

Another piece is our work with Detroit Food Commons , launching this summer. Detroit Food Commons is a 25,000-square-foot hub grocery store in the middle of the city. When you think about Detroit Food Commons, you think about providing fresh and affordable food for families in the city of Detroit, but also that Detroit Food Commons will be a community center and job incubator. We are bringing the power of community into this health space to ensure that their bodies are fed and they have access to opportunities to talk about different employment pathways.

Another organization I would lift is our work with Birth Detroit . We are launching a new birthing center, which would be one of 400 centers across the nation, in the city. Detroit has this dubious distinction of having one of the highest rates of Black maternal morbidity and mortality in the state. We are creating a space to ensure that mothers get the care and support they need so they or their children do not meet this fate.

What are some of the roadblocks or challenges you run into while trying to do this work?

Moore: This work is personal, and because of that, it is hard. There are things we can control and things that are out of our control. Non-supportive policies and its framework, not having enough money, and the structure of its administration aspects are all roadblocks.

However, we can make investments to push against the barriers to work. With the help of our partners, we are illuminating some of the gaps, but also addressing solutions that fill some of those said gaps. We are working against something that we did not design. We are in this moment because the pandemic exposed these ugly and glaring holes. We are hopefully at a point where we can fully design a system that we know we have always needed and is the best way to support the community and our partners. That is one of the most exciting but daunting wins at the end of the day. That is what makes the work rewarding.

How do you take care of yourself and your mental health in this line of work?

Moore: It is a work in progress. Thankfully, we work for an organization that says to make sure you try to prioritize yourself. You do your best to take those moments where you can pause and reflect. We run so hard because the work is personal. There can sometimes be a lot of tears in this world because we know that people are not given the things they need to succeed. You just leave it all on the table each day. We try to have fun doing it right. How do we create, you know, those relationships with people on our team? Take those moments to pause and breathe and give yourself permission and space to breathe. We are not always successful, but you really try your best to create those moments in time to pause, celebrate, and have fun in this work.

Music and retail therapy tend to be my go-to just in terms of my calming space and getaway. So often, music brings you back to work because if you think about music, it has a message. You never totally escape the work that you want to do. I keep believing there is a better world we can create for the people we work on behalf of each day.

How could someone support the work and any other efforts from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation?

Moore: One of the things is to look for opportunities to use your voice and advocate for what we are trying to do here at the foundation: better education, employment, and health outcomes. I think people say, “What does my voice matter? I am just a lowly voice.” Add that one voice to another voice and another. It becomes a movement and how we think of how we build the collective power of the community to stand up and be a part of this change work. Being a part of this work is also designing what needs to happen, but also standing up and speaking loud in terms of what needs to happen and encouraging, demanding, and influencing those stakeholders at the city level, the state level, and the national level to do better and do best by children and families in the city of Detroit. It is the right thing and the only thing to do.

Moore provides leadership and oversight of the foundation’s longstanding investments in the Michigan communities of Battle Creek, Detroit and Grand Rapids, as well as at the statewide level, to further create conditions that ensure children and families have opportunities to thrive in equitable communities. He leads the foundation’s statewide grantmaking priorities in collaboration and partnership with foundation staff, nonprofit organizations, communities and stakeholders throughout the region. For more information on his work, visit https://www.wkkf.org/

Q&A: Yazeed Moore on ‘shoe leather philanthropy’ and building collective movements in Detroit · by Sponsored Content · Outlier Media