In 1997, Walter Smith Jr. became the first black executive director of Family Resources, a Pittsburgh nonprofit that treats people who have experienced child abuse and provides counseling for families.

On his first fundraising mission, Smith––a licensed psychologist with a Ph.D.––had a meeting with a “very formal, well-educated” foundation director. He introduced himself to the man, who looked at him and asked a question Smith said he will never forget.“Who are you?”
Smith said this experience “took [him] back quite a ways.”
“I remember sort of stuttering my way through that. The question wasn’t like, ‘Tell me about Family Resources.’ It wasn’t, you know, ‘Tell me about your organization. Tell me about your request.’ The first question was, who am I?” Smith said. “And so it became…a question about my social role, my identity.”
Smith, who retired from his position at Family Resources in 2012, said during his career as a Black nonprofit professional, he experienced “anger and rage” and a sense that he had to be “twice better” than his colleagues to be taken seriously.
READ MORE AT:
https://www.publicsource.org/why-are-the-leadership-ranks-of-pa-nonprofits-so-white-and-how-could-they-be-more-diverse/