Former Navy Officer Brendan Kelly is running for Illinois’ 12th Congressional District. He has experience advocating for marginalized communities, including the Black community, throughout his career. Upon returning home to Southern Illinois after his service in the Navy, he worked for State Representative Wyvetter Younge, the first Black woman elected to the Illinois state legislature. Along with his history, Kelly demonstrates his commitment to the Black community through his policy agenda, in which he emphasizes the needs of African-Americans in Southern Illinois. Brendan Kelly has placed the BEA policy agenda — increasing work, wages, and wealth as a means for bolstering success within the Black community — at the center of his campaign.

As a prosecutor serving as Assistant State’s Attorney, Kelly sued pharmaceutical companies for misleading the public on the dangers of opioids, advocated for the elimination of statutes of limitation for survivors of child abuse, and held banks accountable for fraudulent mortgage recording that disproportionately hurts Black communities.

In Kelly’s district, 15.9% of the voting age population is Black, and Kelly is motivated to act on the fact that Blacks in his district have been left behind from recovery after the Recession. Ultimately, this race is an opportunity to support a candidate with a history of fighting for the underserved. Brendan Kelly’s campaign has agreed to further the goals of the Black Economic Alliance and has stated a commitment to all of the BEA’s policy initiatives and positions.

As evidenced by the campaign’s key policy papers, Kelly’s campaign not only supports the BEA’s policy agenda, it has made it a key priority. He is unequivocally a candidate worthy of endorsement.