S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. Today we are talking with Pamela Gray Peyton , a San Diego trailblazer who's making black history. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Advancing racial justice includes fighting for economic mobility and equity , from employment discrimination to housing Unaffordability black community members face many barriers to building generational wealth , but my next guest works to remove those barriers on a daily basis , and she's been at it for a long time. Pamela Gray Peyton spent 20 plus years at the University of San Diego as assistant vice president of community and government affairs. Now she's vice president , chief impact and partnerships officer at the San Diego Foundation. She and her team have launched programs like the Black Community Investment Fund and the San Diego Black Homebuyers Program , just to name a few. Pamela Gray Peyton joins me now. Pamela , welcome. Thank you. Jade , nice to be here. Oh , so great to have you here. So you've you've really worn a lot of hats around the San Diego community , advancing community change and social justice. And in all of them , I want to start with your current role at the San Diego Foundation.
S2: Everything from education and workforce , types of opportunities to helping people access college and dreams that they did not know were even attainable.
S1:
S2: We determined that there were four areas of priority that included education , employment , housing , and entrepreneurism. At the time , we were both seeing the impact of Covid on the San Diego community and in particular , the black community , and also the murder of George Floyd. Both of those events were significant , and that they really elevated the disparities that existed in our region , both in the way of access to resources and support and to the investment that were being made in black lead and black serving organizations.
S1: Can you give me some examples of efforts that have come out of that fund ? Yeah.
S2: So with the BCF , we were able to bring together an advisory council that really helped us identify priority investments. And over the course of the last four years , we've made significant investments in education through an initiative at the University of San Diego we called the Black Ingenious Initiative. There are over 130 students are receiving academic support for the program , will carry them from sixth grade through becoming seniors in high school , at which point when they apply to go to college , students will have 100% of their financial aid need met by the university. We've launched a first time homebuyer program that has served 64 black families and an additional 20 other families over the course of the last couple of years , because it has been expanded to be a Bipoc program. Uh , with this program , families are receiving $40,000 grants to assist them with the downpayment of their home. When we add up , what does that mean for our region ? Almost $39 million of investment has been made in home ownership by these buyers , who again , if not for this $40,000 grant they're receiving from this program , may not have been able to purchase homes. And , you know , that is one area in particular where many of us who are homeowners understand that having the ability to own a home is often a path to generational wealth building that can be shared and passed along to family members , uh , down , down the line.
S1: Can you talk a little bit about the history , um , that that explains the why behind why so many , um , black San Diegans haven't been able to build that wealth.
S2: In San Diego and in many cities across the nation for generations , black families were not permitted to buy homes in many communities. And so this redlining of black buyers meant that if you bought a home , it was going to be in an area that is often , uh , undesirable or or certainly not as valued as other communities. And so when we looked at what are the four or key areas where generational wealth is imperative , uh , homeownership became something that arose to us as a high priority in San Diego at the time. In 2020 , black buyers were somewhere around 30% of the total population in San Diego , whereas white buyers were 61% of homeowners in San Diego. So thinking , you know about the value of owning a home and the ability to for that home to appreciate and for you to be able to use that home to send your child to college or to pay for medical care , etc.. Uh , that had been something that many black families could not accomplish , could not do on their own. And so with this first time homebuyer grant , several people have been able to purchase homes , and again , they would not have been able to do so without the support. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. You know , as you mentioned earlier , Covid 19 really shined a light on systemic racism embedded in the fabric of our country. You played a key role in directing the San Diego Foundation's Covid 19 Community Response Fund.
S2: I came on board in March of 2020. And so we were deeply invested in the throes of of the community response work. The community had been incredibly generous to the San Diego Foundation and really generous to our larger San Diego community. By donating over $68 million in just a few short months once the Covid Community Response Fund was opened , and what I was then invited to do is to help with leading our response , meaning there were many , many needs in the community. We had to identify what the priorities were and getting grants out to those individuals and excuse me , to those organizations that were serving the greatest need. And so over the course of time between the launch of the fund in March of 2020 , and then when we start actually wrapped the fund and let's say August or so of 2021 , we were able to bring in $68 million through grants and donations from many different partners across the region , and push that same amount of money out to address everything from vital medical assistance. You know , there were a lot of communities who were not able to access vaccinations. And so we identified partners who could help because they had those trusted Relationships with some of our underrepresented communities , and they were able to help to initiate vaccine clinics over the course of multiple days. We were able to provide digital access to students who suddenly had no computers , who did not have tutors at home to support them. And so we were just trying to do those things that other organizations weren't able to focus on because of their priority areas , but really filling a gap to the communities who needed it the most.
S1: You know , I mean , the disparities are obvious , the why behind those disparities also very obvious. Um , so I want to talk about the threats , despite all of this , this growing information and , and the impact of these important programs and important community work. Um , how have the threats affected your programs on the federal level with these happening ? Will they affect your programs at all or the funding at all ? Yeah.
S2: Thank you for that question. Uh , one that we think about frequently at San Diego Foundation and really across the broader philanthropic community here in the region. Many of our nonprofits are very reliant on federal funding , and as threats to that federal funding have become more pressing. It's really going to impact the services that they're able to deliver to the community. Now , whether it is an organization that is reliant on federal funding to provide child care services or support , uh , when those agencies no longer have access to what might be 75 , 80% of their annual budgets , it's going to impact our broader community. And so we are meeting regularly right now. We're actually excited to get some information from a survey that the nonprofit institute at the University of San Diego has recently conducted that will help us identify perhaps the top priorities for the region , and to be able to then use that data to help us determine how we want to deploy the funding that we have available to us to support our community. But I will say , you know unequivocally that given the potential gaps that the non-profit community here in San Diego will experience in the in the multi-million of dollars , in some cases , who knows , it could be billions of dollars given research work and many other areas that are being affected. Philanthropy alone will not be able to fill that gap , but what we can do is prioritize some of those needs that are greatest and are unlikely to be met through other systems of support. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. And you spent over two decades as an administrator at the University of San Diego. You actually co-founded the Black Resource Center there. Centers like that are also under attack from the Trump administration. I mean , talk to me about why the Black Resource Center is so important for people on campus there.
S2: Again , thank you for the question. You know , it is really , really saddens me to see the attack that diversity , equity and inclusion is getting right now from the administration. You know , the idea of developing a space on the University of San Diego campus where students could come and be supported and be in community , you know , community is medicine. And so bringing places like that to college campuses where students are often grossly underrepresented , a large across the larger student body was something that made us very proud at the University of San Diego , and even today , it is a place where students feel community. They feel welcome. They come , they meet with advisors. They're able to spend time with faculty in a , you know , non-academic setting , and it's important. My daughter at the time was a college student herself , as I mentioned , in the southeast , and I saw the way they were embracing her in this community that looked very similar in terms of the demographics , uh , to USD , and it just really elevated her performance. She got the social emotional support that she needed. She was able to be in community with friends , meeting friends that were not only other black students , but students from many different cultures and races. But she was able to do so confidently. That's what the Black Resource Center is at USD and is on most campuses. I think you know , any student body that feels isolated and oftentimes alienated needs to be able to be in a space where they're elevated and they're lifted up , and they're encouraged and supported so that we can go out and be our best selves and perform at the level that we know we're capable. But it's hard to do that when you're emotionally struggling or you're socially struggling. And so these spaces are really intended to be safe spaces for students to get that additional support that enables them to go back and really be successful in their endeavors across campus , whether it be academic or participating in the social fabric of a campus , it's really essential to have these spaces. And so to see them come under attack today is just really disheartening. But , you know , I will say that our institutions are resilient and they will continue to provide the support that our students need to be successful. Every student pays tuition , somehow or another , to be on a college campus and deserve to be embraced and supported holistically and given the support that they deserve. And so I am Confident that these campuses will continue to find a way to support their students. You know , whether it's called the Black Student Resource Center or it's a space that is just a space for all students who are embracing difference and and really lifting one another up ? I don't know , but it will be imperative to have these safe spaces for all students to be nurtured and supported and to grow , um , academically and emotionally and be successful. Mhm.
S3: Mhm.
S1: Well , you know , we've been asking a lot of guests this question , particularly this month.
S2: And until that time , the work continues to be something that we have to pursue in earnest with the belief that that is possible and until such time where it is achieved , I , I , I have my work to do every single day and plan to get up with the same commitment to our region that I started with 20 plus years ago.
S1: I've been speaking with Pamela Gray Peyton. She is vice president , chief impact and partnerships officer at the San Diego Foundation. Pamela , thank you so much. I appreciate it , and thanks for the work that you do.
S2: Thank you so much , Joy talking to you.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
