There is no wrong side of the tracks.
The vast inequities between communities is unnatural and unnecessary. It's an artifact of bad design and a false choice. Someone decided where transportation would flow and where it wouldn't, where the garbage and toxins would be taken, where the homes, offices and grocery stores would be built, and where they wouldn't. A thousand large and small decisions make up this imaginary place called the other side of the tracks.
The good news is it doesn't have to be this way. We live in a time of new tools to solve old problems. Technology makes us more efficient, and with more efficiency we can have less scarcity. That's also a design decision; a choice. We are privileged to live in a moment where it's possible to do more with less every single day. Is it crazy to think we might finally be able to take good care of everyone?
Yes, we climb mountains.
This talk explores living a life of adventure from running with the bulls, to the pyramids, to climbing the highest peak in North America. In this talk Stephen encourages all of us to get out and climb our own mountains, whether actual or metaphorical.
An American Ascent screening
This interview with Julianne Malveaux from CNN delves into the behind the scenes of the making of An American Ascent, and what it was like to train for and climb Denali, the highest mountain in North America.
The 95-5 Problem
Stephen DeBerry was an early leader of the impact investment movement. In this 2012 talk he explains how we can rethink the way we invest the $600 billion of foundation endowment capital to produce 20x more impact for the missions of those organizations.