With Four Freedoms, Four Responsibilities

A Defense of Democratic Values

Darren Walker

This book is part of our custom publishing program.

With Four Freedoms, Four Responsibilities

A Defense of Democratic Values

Darren Walker

With every freedom comes a responsibility.

With the freedom of speech, a responsibility to listen.
With the freedom of belief, a responsibility to accept.
With the freedom from want, a responsibility to serve.
With the freedom from fear, a responsibility to act.

During the spring of 2017, Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, delivered this message in—and across—four commencement addresses. His argument, expanded and edited for this volume, is a stirring defense of democratic values and institutions, and an urgent call for civic engagement in our time.

About the Author

Darren Walker is president of the Ford Foundation, a $16 billion international social justice philanthropy. Under his leadership, the Ford Foundation became the first nonprofit in US history to issue a $1 billion designated social bond to stabilize nonprofit organizations in the wake of Covid-19.

Before joining Ford, Darren was vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation. In the 1990s, he was COO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, Harlem’s largest community development organization.

Darren co-founded both the US Impact Investing Alliance and the Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy. He serves on many boards, including the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Block, Inc., and Ralph Lauren.

Educated exclusively in public schools, Darren was a member of the first Head Start class and received BA, BS, and JD degrees from The University of Texas at Austin. He was named one of TIME’s annual 100 Most Influential People, Out magazine’s Power 50, and The Wall Street Journal’s 2020 Philanthropy Innovator. He holds sixteen honorary degrees and Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Medal. In 2022, he was named Commander of the French Order of Arts and Letters and appointed by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, to the Order of the British Empire for services to UK–US relations.

Learn more about the Ford Foundation