FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
crodriguezhernandez@skdknick.com

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Black Economic Alliance PAC (BEA PAC), a coalition of business leaders and aligned advocates committed to using their collective power and business acumen to support candidates and policies that advance Black economic progress and prosperity, released a letter signed by top Black business leaders across the country – including from key battleground states – endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic agenda. 

See below for the full list of signatories.

As the letter states, “Vice President Harris’ Opportunity Economy agenda would give Americans the tools to build generational wealth by making housing more affordable, creating good-paying jobs, and investing in the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels our economy.”

The letter contrasts Vice President Harris’ concrete plans for an opportunity economy with the “destabilizing and potentially economically devastating ideas” put forward by Former President Donald Trump and his allies. 

Of particular importance to the signers as Black business leaders, Vice President Harris’ economic agenda will remove long-standing barriers to prosperity for the Black community.

The open letter comes on the heels of BEA’s recently launched program to contact more than 700,000 infrequent Black voters in five key battleground states using text messages and digital advertisements. 

Open Letter from Black Business Leaders

We, the undersigned, a collective of Black business leaders, are supporting Vice President Kamala Harris as the best presidential candidate for America’s economy. Her strong, steady leadership and demonstrated commitment to expanding economic opportunity and fighting to lower costs for all Americans make her the right leader for this moment.

Vice President Harris’ Opportunity Economy Agenda would give Americans the tools they need to build generational wealth by making housing more affordable, creating good-paying jobs, and investing in the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels our economy.

Her agenda takes on the housing affordability crisis both by building 3 million new housing units and by providing $25,000 in down-payment support for first-time home-buyers. She would break down barriers to higher-paying jobs, including by waiving degree requirements for half a million federal jobs. And she will help support a new generation of small business owners by expanding the startup expense deduction from $5,000 to $50,000 and reducing the red tape they face. 

Many of us have spent time with Vice President Harris and know that she understands what the private sector needs to grow, invest, and thrive – and how business leaders like us create good-paying jobs that strengthen our communities. 

Elections are about choices and Harris’ vision – of a more inclusive, more equitable economy – could not be more different than the other choice on the ballot this cycle: the destabilizing and potentially economically devastating ideas put forward by Former President Trump’s campaign and its allies. 

Vice President Harris’ agenda would make buying a home more accessible while the other side would make FHA loans even more expensive for those with limited cash-on-hand. 

Vice President Harris would make post-high school education available, accessible, and affordable– while the other side proposes dismantling the Department of Education and Title 1 funding AND eliminating student loan debt forgiveness.

Trusted economists from Moody’s Analytics have estimated that Trump’s economic plans would lead us into a recession by mid-2025. 

The contrast could not be more clear. Of particular importance to us as Black business leaders, Vice President Harris’ economic agenda will remove long-standing barriers to prosperity for the Black community – which we know will benefit all Americans, making our economy stronger. 

As Vice President Harris says, The American dream belongs to all of us. We know Vice President Harris is the best choice for our economic prosperity, business, and the American economy. 

Signed:

Wemimo Abbey, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Esusu

Gerald Adolph, Former Senior Partner, Booz Allen Hamilton/Booz & Co.

Shellye Archambeau, Former CEO, MetricStream

Rosalind “Roz” Brewer, Former CEO, Walgreens Boots Alliance; Former CEO, Sam’s Club

Neil Brown, Co-Founder and CEO, AMSALE

Rodney Bullard, CEO, The Same House; Former Vice President, Chick-fil-A Inc.

Ursula Burns, Chairwoman, Teneo; Former CEO, Xerox

Melissa Butler, CEO, The Lip Bar

Ken Chenault, Chairman and Managing Director, General Catalyst; Former Chairman and CEO, American Express

Pinky Cole Hayes, Founder and CEO, Slutty Vegan

Caretha Coleman, Chairman, Black Directors Health Equity Agenda

Ken Coleman, Chairman, EIS Group

Robyn Coles, President, TRATE Enterprises

Tony Coles, Chairman and Former CEO, Cerevel Therapeutics

W. Don Cornwell, Founder, Former Chairman, and CEO, Granite Broadcasting Corporation

Morgan DeBaun, Founder and CEO, Blavity Inc., AfroTech

Richelieu Dennis, Founder and Executive Chair, Sundial Group

Arnold Donald, Former Vice Chair and CEO, Carnival Corporation and PLC

Ken Frazier, Chairman, Health Assurance Initiatives, General Catalyst; Former Chairman and CEO, Merck

Bruce Gordon, Former Group President, Verizon Communications; Former President and CEO, NAACP

Roderick Hardamon, Founder, URGE Group; Co-Founder, EBIARA Fund

William Heard, CEO and CIO, Heard Capital LLC

Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO and President, Ariel Investments

Julius Hollis, CEO, J. H. Hollis & Company

Osagie Imasogie, Chairman, Quoin Advisors & Quoin Capital; Founder and Senior Managing Partner, PIPV Capital

Broderick Johnson, Former Cabinet Secretary to President Obama; Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation

Charles D. King, Founder and CEO, MACRO

Ambassador Ron Kirk, Senior Of Counsel, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Ed Lewis, Former Chairman and CEO, Essence Communications; Co-Founder, Essence Magazine

Kevin Liles, Former Chairman and CEO, 300 Elektra Entertainment; Former President and CEO, Def Jam Recordings

Tracy V. Maitland, President, Advent Capital Management

Scott M. Mills, President and CEO, BET Media Group

Henry McGee, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School; Former President, HBO Home Entertainment

Raymond J. McGuire, President, Lazard

Vicki Palmer, President, The Palmer Group, LLC; Former Executive Vice President, Coca-Cola Enterprises

Deval L. Patrick, Entrepreneur; Investor; former Governor of Massachusetts

Charles Phillips, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Recognize; Former CEO, Infor

John Rhea, Partner, Centerview Partners

Sylvia Rhone, Chairwoman and CEO, Epic Records

Tarrus Richardson, Founder and CEO, IMB Partners

John W. Rogers Jr., Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO, Ariel Investments

Joy Rohadfox, CEO, Rohadfox Construction

Michael Russell Sr., CEO, H.J. Russell & Company

Sylvia Russell, Former President, AT&T Georgia

Priscilla Sims Brown, President and CEO, Amalgamated Bank

Marva A. Smalls

Leslie Smallwood-Lewis, Co-Founder and COO, Mosaic Development Partners

Frederick O. Terrell,

Robin Washington, Former Executive Vice President and CFO, Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Ted Wells, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Benaree “Bennie” Wiley, Principal, The Wiley Group; Former CEO, The Partnership, Inc.

Fletcher “Flash” Wiley, Former Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Kneeland Youngblood, Founding Partner, Chairman, and CEO, Pharos Capital Group LLC

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About the Black Economic Alliance PAC

Black Economic Alliance PAC is a coalition of business leaders and aligned advocates committed to economic progress and prosperity in the Black community with a specific focus on work, wages, and wealth. We are using our collective power and business acumen to advance candidates and policies that can and will create economic empowerment in the Black community. If you’d like to support BEA PAC’s advocacy for Black economic progress and support candidates for office who are committed to improving work, wages, and wealth for Black Americans, visit https://pac.blackeconomicalliance.org/