Black to the Future Public Policy Institute Announces New Cohort and Legislative Victories

ATLANTA, Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund announced its third cohort of fellows for the Black to the Future Public Policy Institute, an eight-month fellowship designed to train future Black policy makers and cultivate a network of Black policy leaders.

The 19 fellows will be trained by Institute staff and guest speakers, and provided with 1:1 mentorship by experts in policy making. Past speakers include journalist Joy Reid, civil rights leader Bryan Stevenson, and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. Fellows will join a network of over 60 alumni from Black-led, Black-serving organizations from across the country who have participated in the Institute, advancing pro-Black policies in local and state governments.

"Black people need more than a seat at the table to be powerful – we need to set the menu and win policy and electoral power that will transform our communities and secure our futures," said Alicia Garza, founder and principal at Black to the Future Action Fund and Black Futures Lab. "As part of our work, we are committed to training Black leaders to rewrite the rules that hold our communities back. These courageous and visionary fellows make me excited and hopeful about change.

Over 600 applicants across 18 states showed interest in joining the Institute's 2022-2023 class of fellows, with teams committing to advance policy in  one of the following issue areas: democracy and voting rights, the economy and economic security, families, public health and healthcare, structural barriers and the criminal-legal system. Eight teams from eight states were ultimately selected out of a pool of highly competitive applicants, representing deep experience and shared commitment to building independent, Black political power:

• Alabama Association for the Arts (Alabama): Dynasty Chapman and Gloria Hollins seek to eliminate barriers to the ballot box and restore voting rights for formerly incarcerated people in Alabama.
• Charleston Area Justice Ministry (South Carolina): Amber Campbell-Moore and Raynique Syas seek to reduce the suspension rates of students in Charleston through a community-based approach designed to implement restorative practices in the classroom.
• Destination Innovation (Kansas): Desmond Bryant White and Yusef Presley aim to reduce youth incarceration in Kansas by increasing funding for community-based youth support services.
• The Hood Incubator (New York): Najeebah Brown, Eliana Green, and Venus Ischei seek to eliminate financial barriers for legacy operators working in the legal cannabis industry in New York.
• Imagine Black (Oregon): Amina Banks, Danita Harris, and Keith Jenkins are building a Black-centered policy visioning effort in Oregon that aims to shrink the corrections system and reimagine public safety.
• Live Free Illinois (Illinois): Greg Chambers and Artinese Myrick seek to transform the way violent crime cases are handled and solved for Black communities in Chicago.
• Miami Workers Center (Florida):  Marie Francois and Emmanuela Jean-Etienne aim to support rent stabilization efforts and protections for renters in North Miami.
• People's Advocacy Institute (Mississippi): Brooke Flyod, Tamra Daniels-Washington, and Gus Washington seek to create a community fund that supports data driven, evidence-based, and trauma-informed programs in Mississippi.

"The Institute is bringing together the most influential policy minds in the Black community to offer this training," said Katherine Grainger, Lead Trainer for the Institute. "Throughout the program, fellows will have an opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills as they work to strengthen how policies respond to the needs of Black communities."

The fellowship provides an opportunity for participants to build a policy campaign from the ground up. Over the course of eight months, fellows will engage in research through a community and policy lens to develop and strengthen their policy ideas, while also gaining a deep understanding of the legislative process at the state and municipal level.

Institute alumni have already improved conditions for Black communities as a result of their  policy work. Past fellows from Florida Rising have helped to put a rent stabilization ordinance on this November's ballot in Orange County, FL. Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition helped pass the Clean Slate Act through one house of the state legislature, advancing the argument to automatically seal certain conviction records in the state.

In 2021, the Young Women's Freedom Center advanced efforts to change sentencing guidelines for people who are survivors of human trafficking or intimate partner violence through Keiana's Law - Justice for Human Trafficking and Intimate Partner Violence Survivors, and helped pass California AB124 (2021-2022). I Be Black Girl worked to  pass LB 451 in Nebraska, which prohibits employers from discriminating towards an employee or applicant on the basis of hair texture and hairstyles historically associated with race.

In addition, in 2022, Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund selected pilot projects — the Hood Incubator, Full Citizens Coalition, and HOPE Policy Institute — to support with investments of $95,000 in communications, research support, relationship building, and more.

The Institute is free of charge. Each fellow and team is sponsored by a for-profit, nonprofit, or government group with a proven history of working with Black communities and commitment to impacting public policy to advance Black political power.

Black Futures Lab works with Black people to transform our communities, building Black political power, and changing the way that power operates—locally, statewide, and nationally. We work to understand the dynamics impacting our communities, we build the capacity of our communities to govern, and we engage and include Black people in the decisions that impact our lives. Our mission is to engage Black communities year round, using our political strength to stop corporate influences from creeping into public policies, and combining technology and traditional organizing methods to reach Black people anywhere and everywhere we are. blackfutureslab.org

SOURCE Black Futures Lab