The Joint Center is hosting its 50th Anniversary celebration entitled The Eddie Williams Future of Black Com-munities Leadership Summit on December 7-9, 2020. The online event will convene Black thought leaders, academics, elected officials, and other stakeholders to help frame the economic policy agenda for Black America for the next four years in the wake of COVID-19. This three-day virtual celebration will also serve as an opportunity to commemorate five decades of the Joint Center’s progress while gearing up for the work that is ahead.
We’re excited that we’ll be joined by House Majority Whip James Clyburn, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass, House Education and Labor Committee Chair Bobby Scott, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, Color of Change President Rashad Robinson, Black Economic Alliance Co-Chair Charles Phillips, Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynthia Marshall, Uber Chief Legal Officer Tony West, NPR’s Michel Martin, CNN Political Commentator Bakari Sellers, CBS News Analyst Jamal Simmons, and many more.
We are grateful to our generous sponsors who have made this event possible. RSVP here.
Economic Studies
The Joint Center thanks the Lumina Foundation for extending a generous grant to support the Joint Center’s Future of Work program. This program collects data and creates solutions to help Black workers succeed in the ever-evolving labor market. We are currently seeking a Workforce Policy Director to lead this growing program.
The Joint Center thanks the Hewlett Foundation for its $15 million investment to groups working against systemic racism. The Joint Center is honored to join other Black-led recipient organizations including Black Futures Lab, Black Teacher Project, Black Women’s Health Imperative, Common Future, Data For Black Lives, The East Bay Community Foundation, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Liberation in a Generation, The Marshall Institute, Partnerships for Trauma Recovery, Race Forward, Repaired Nations, Sister Song, and Souls Grown Deep.
Joint Center President Spencer Overton joined a plenary panel at the Council on Foundations 2020 Public Policy Summit entitled Advancing Equity & Building Power in Black Communities. Other panelists included Color of Change President Rashad Robinson and CNN Commentator Bakari Sellers, and Skillman Foundation President & CEO Tonya Allen moderated the conversation.
“America’s Black Think Tank” enjoys a resurgence: This think tank has found its moment is the title of a recent article profiling the Joint Center in Blue Tent, a publication for philanthropy committed to social inclusion, ecological sustainability, and global interdependence.
