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Black Executives Join Forces, Forming a PAC to Back Them Up | The New York Times

Black Executives Join Forces, Forming a PAC to Back Them Up | The New York Times Once an informal network, a group of friends and associates is organizing a united political push on issues like education, employment and voting rights.

Robyn Coles, Anthony Coles, Charles Phillips, Karen Phillips, Marva Smalls, African American Executives, Black Executives, African American Professionals, Black Professionals, African American Economics, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN



Dozens of black executives and their spouses joined Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, as well as Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general, for a private dinner in July in Bridgehampton, N.Y. Over kale salad and sea bass on the grounds of a hotel, the executives sought advice about their intermittent fund-raising efforts to address political and social issues, and for the candidates who support those causes.

Ronald Kirk, a former mayor of Dallas and a lawyer who served in the Obama administration, had the bluntest message. “You’re wasting your money,” he recalled saying. “My advice is: Get organized.”

It was a crystallizing moment. Many attendees had long been part of an informal group of friends and associates who raised money for philanthropies or policy issues on an ad hoc basis. At the dinner, they decided it was time to use their wealth and stature in a more formal way.

By early 2018, the group hopes to start a political action committee, creating a new fund-raising model for corporate executives of color. The group would support candidates of any political party who fit the PAC’s agenda.

Robyn Coles, Anthony Coles, Charles Phillips, Karen Phillips, Marva Smalls, African American Executives, Black Executives, African American Professionals, Black Professionals, African American Economics, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNBryce Vickmark | Photo Credit

Robyn Coles, Anthony Coles, Charles Phillips, Karen Phillips, Marva Smalls, African American Executives, Black Executives, African American Professionals, Black Professionals, African American Economics, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN


NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY & CULTURE | WASHINGTON, DC

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become charter members. The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution. (Website).


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