Op-Ed: Maintaining momentum in November – Essence

The 2024 presidential election is lower than five weeks away, and almost every poll shows the race continues to be dangerously close. Just as essential because the presidential election are the countless midterm elections for state and native positions comparable to governor, mayor and attorney general, which may have enormous consequences for our freedoms. Whether it’s reproductive freedom, the liberty to study our history, or the liberty to make a living for our families, these decisions deserve our undivided attention.

Over the past few months, the Global Black Economic Forum (GBEF) has gained momentum, mobilizing our community to not only go to the polls, but to make informed decisions once we do.

For example, we hosted quite a few events with elected officials – most notably Vice President Kamala Harris. During this fireside chat on the GBEF stage of the ESSENCE 2024 Cultural Festival, she made it clear that one other 4 years of Donald Trump will mean one other 4 years of chaos, lawlessness, and an anti-freedom agenda that may fall disproportionately on the shoulders of girls, Black people, and other people of color.

At the GBEF Business Summit, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined Richelieu Dennis, founder and CEO of Sundial Group of Companies, and I to debate how recent U.S. Supreme Court cases on abortion, democracy, and affirmative motion have raised the stakes of this election. Leader Jeffries mentioned that Black America resides in its third “period of backlash” in relation to progress, emphasizing the necessity to have interaction in order that we will survive this era and get to the opposite side.

We also convened meetings of outstanding members of the black business community, including Thasunda Brown DuckettCEO and President of TIAA and Robert F. Smithfounder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. Their perspectives – as pioneers in their fields – have helped our community understand how we will transform the financial landscape to construct and sustain wealth. It was clear from each discussions how essential it’s for our voices to be heard in any respect levels of presidency.

GBEF also had the chance to attend the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference on September 12 in Washington, DC. I had the chance to participate in a panel titled “Pathways to Prosperity: Advancing Democracy and Black Economic Opportunity.” The conversation highlighted a key a part of the discussion about economic injustice that is commonly neglected – how racial disparities harm the U.S. economy to the tune of trillions of dollars. Closing the racial wealth gap would actually increase U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). The conversation emphasized that the present realities of Black economic life will only be fixed when policymakers, business leaders and community activists come together more often and faster to realize progress.

These moments in the summer were a natural progression to our recent launch of Paint the Polls Black. As we have now recruited reliable and trusted communicators in the community to attract attention to key issues, we, the Sundial Group of Companies – which incorporates ESSENCE, Global Black Economic Forum, Girls United, AfroPunk, BeautyCon, Refinery29 and New Voices Foundation – have also announced an in depth schedule virtual events that help voters understand how key policy issues impact our on a regular basis lives.

So far, we have now seen great appetite for the programs we run – the primary three events attracted tons of of hundreds of viewers. There’s more programming ahead on the importance of battleground states, how one can get others in the community to vote, early voting policies, and how one can ensure your rights aren’t blocked on the ballot box. But we’d like your help to spread the word.

Visit paintthepollsblack.com to view our previous town halls and enroll for upcoming events. Full content will also be found on the Global Black Economic Forum YouTube side.

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