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Non-profit

Miami Institute for the Social Sciences (MISS)

Website:

www.miamisocialsciences.org
Location:

Miami, FL
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Formation:

2020
Type:

Educational Nonprofit
Executive Director:

Maribel Morey

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The Miami Institute for the Social Sciences (MISS) is a left-of-center research institution that works to eradicate racism against the “Global Majority” from social scientists in industrialized nations and social science as a field. 1 The group supports academics of color in field such as economics, philosophy, and sociology. 2

Although MISS does not disclose its donors, the institute claims to prioritize donations from communities of color to ensure “institutional and financial independence from elite white actors.” 3

Background

The Miami Institute for the Social Sciences was founded in June of 2020 by Maribel Morey, an academic, activist, and author. 4 The institute is located in Miami, Florida due to that city’s geographic and cultural relevance to communities of color. 5 The Miami Institute maintains limited permanent faculty, with temporary visiting scholars. 6

Activity

The Miami Institute states that its goal is to foster discussions on academia without the “white Anglo-American domination.” 7

In 2020, MISS began hosting forums, led by minority academics, on topics such as economics, philosophy, and sociology. 8 Forums included addresses on discrimination and bias in economics, colonization in philosophy, and emancipation in sociology. 9 The speakers sought to create a left-of-center framework with the work of academics from communities of color. 10 Additionally, the institute worked to address perceived discrimination against academics from communities of color through the inclusion of research conducted by minorities. 11 The institute also holds webinar conversations to supplement the presentations and essays of the forums. 12

Funding

The Miami Institute claimed to rely solely on “grassroots donations” in the first two years of its founding. 13 Executive director Maribel Morey asserted that this was done to avoid the influence of the large philanthropies that the institute sought to critique. 14 Instead of traditional sources of income, the institute sought to create a system of mutual aid. 15 The group solicited individual contributions from other academics of color, and in return, academics in non-white communities received training, research, and recognition opportunities from the institute. 16

Moreover, Morey promoted a solidarity economy model, in which the institute accepted donations from philanthropic organizations, provided that the funds be used to promote work from academics of color. 17 Although Morey maintained the importance of multiple revenue streams that included big philanthropy donations, she believed engaging with big philanthropy was necessary to gain experience in influencing established philanthropies. 18 In an interview about funding for MISS, Morey stated that the institute sought to “dialogue with the dominant neoliberal economic system on [their] own terms” and create “institutional and financial independence from elite white actors.” 19 20

People

Maribel Morey is the founder and executive director of the Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. 21 She is the author of White Philanthropy: Carnegie Corporation’s An American Dilemma and the Making of a White World Order. 22 Morey was also a donor to ActBlue and a political committee supporting the 2020 presidential campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). 23

Caroline Shenaz Hossein is the chair of the institute’s board of directors. 24 She is also a board member of the International Association for Feminist Economics, a left-of-center educational nonprofit, and of a United Nations task force. 25 Hossein founded the left-leaning research group, the Diverse Solidarity Economies Collective. 26

Inderjeet Parmar is the treasurer of the board. 27 He also researched for the Social Science Research Council. 28 He works for the University College Dublin’s Clinton Institute on the Trump Project, an analysis of the 2016 election and the Trump administration. 29 30

Grieve Chelwa is a board director. 31 He is also the director of research for the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at the New School. 32 33

Ahmed Mori is a board director. 34 He is also vice president of community economic development at Catalyst Miami, a left-of-center activism and advocacy group. 35 36 In media, he has described himself as a “collectivist.” 37 Mori has also donated to Catalyst Miami, ActBlue, and Americans for Immigrant Justice, a left-leaning immigration advocacy group. 38

References

  1. “About.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/about.
  2. Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/.
  3. “Introducing the Miami Institute: Why Grassroots, at Least at First.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. March 29, 2021. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/home/xvc2p891tzj23y2za40y5mf9wwzxw5.
  4. “About.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/about.
  5. “About.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/about.
  6. “Introducing the Miami Institute: Why Grassroots, at Least at First.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. March 29, 2021. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/home/xvc2p891tzj23y2za40y5mf9wwzxw5.
  7.  Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/.
  8. Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/.
  9. “Forums.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/forums.
  10. Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/.
  11. Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/.
  12. “All Recordings/Todas Grabaciones.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/webinars.
  13. “Introducing the Miami Institute: Why Grassroots, at Least at First.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. March 29, 2021. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/home/xvc2p891tzj23y2za40y5mf9wwzxw5.
  14. “Introducing the Miami Institute: Why Grassroots, at Least at First.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. March 29, 2021. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/home/xvc2p891tzj23y2za40y5mf9wwzxw5.
  15. “Donate.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/donate.
  16. “Donate.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/donate.
  17. “Donate.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/donate.
  18. “Donate.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/donate.
  19. “Donate.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/donate.
  20. “Introducing the Miami Institute: Why Grassroots, at Least at First.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. March 29, 2021. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/home/xvc2p891tzj23y2za40y5mf9wwzxw5.
  21. Morey, Maribel. Accessed June 4, 2022. http://www.maribelmorey.com/.
  22. Morey, Maribel. “Behind the Scenes of White Philanthropy.” HistPhil, January 24, 2022. https://histphil.org/2021/11/29/behind-the-scenes-of-white-philanthropy/.
  23. “Browse Individual Contributions.” FEC.gov. Accessed June 4, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=maribel%2Bmorey.
  24. “About.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/leadership.
  25. “Caroline Shenaz Hossein.” University of Toronto—Scarborough. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/dgds/caroline-shenaz-hossein.
  26. “Diverse Solidarity Economies (Dise).” Diverse Solidarity Economies. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.caroline-shenaz-hossein.com/.
  27. “About.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/leadership.
  28. “Professor Inderjeet Parmar.” City University of London. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.city.ac.uk/about/people/academics/inderjeet-parmar#.
  29. “Professor Inderjeet Parmar.” City University of London. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.city.ac.uk/about/people/academics/inderjeet-parmar#.
  30. “UCD Clinton News,” 2017. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ddfc1763d393a7e061bcb74/t/5e3c26a707c3c237aec32aa6/1581000386527/Newsletter-Autumn-2017.pdf.
  31. “About.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/leadership.
  32. “About.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/leadership.
  33.  “Grieve Chelwa – Director of Research – Linkedin.com.” Linkedin. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/grieve-chelwa-b2a04011.
  34. “About.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/leadership.
  35. “About.” Miami Institute for the Social Sciences. Accessed June 19, 2022. https://www.miamisocialsciences.org/leadership.
  36. Catalyst Miami. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.catalystmiami.org/.
  37. Mori, Ahmed. “Ahmed Mori.” Twitter. Twitter. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://twitter.com/ahmedmori.
  38. “Browse Individual Contributions.” FEC.gov. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Ahmed%2BMori%2B.
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Miami Institute for the Social Sciences (MISS)


Miami, FL