Descendants Of Enslaved People In Minnesota And The Dakotas To Receive $50M from Bush Foundation

In an attempt to rectify systemic injustices that have stifled the advancement of Black people, the Bush Foundation is funding $50 million dollars in grants for descendants of slavery living in Minnesota and the Dakotas to build wealth and opportunity.

As a collaboration with Minnesota-based organization Nexus Community Partners, the program entitled Open Road Fund will administer the grants, according to the Star Tribune.

Aligned with their mission of Black upliftment, the application to the Open Road Fund appropriately opened on Juneteenth.

The grants will disperse in increments up to $50,000, and go toward the endeavors of the descendants of formerly enslaved living in this region. While many could label the effort as reparations, officials at the Open Road Fund say the money provided is not substantial enough to be considered such.

Local leaders are championing the program, stating that is in line with other established plans geared toward reversing the pervasive impact of enslavement and its subsequent forms of discrimination, including Jim Crow and police brutality.

The Nexus grants will provide Black Midwesterners the vital funding to buy property, pay for school, invest in a business, or give back to initiatives or causes that also impact Black people, such as mental health or LGBTQIA+ advocacy organizations.

The grants will also allow recipients to combine their new financial pools to contribute to even grander ventures.

Of the official announcement, Nexus CEO Repa Mekha expressed hope that these grants will help descendants of enslaved people reach greater heights in their personal and professional lives,

“Through this $50 million Open Road Fund, Nexus has a chance to provide a return on the investment Black folks have long made to this country and create Black wealth. To us, Black wealth-building is about creating spaces and opportunities that help all Black people to thrive.”

Minnesota-based nonprofits, with the state having a Black population higher than that of the Dakotas, are assisting Nexus and The Bush Foundation in sharing the news that could forever change the trajectory of many Black small businesses.

Matthew Ramadan, president of New African Community Development Corporation, is optimistic of the fund’s mission to ignite economic achievement for Black people in his state.

“The hope is that these funds will actually reach down into the communities as intended,” he said.

Nexus and The Bush Foundation are urging descendants of slavery from all backgrounds in Minnesota and North and South Dakota, including those who repatriated to Africa, to apply to the Open Road Fund before the deadline of July 28.