Longest-Ever Government Shutdown Ends. May Day of Action. Ohio Black Expo. #TheBreakdown

The Supreme Court's 'Cala decision' invalidated a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, which advocates argue effectively 'eviscerates' Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This ruling allows states to justify dismantling minority opportunity seats by framing them as 'partisan gerrymanders,' even when they disproportionately impact Black voters. This sets a dangerous precedent for other Southern states, potentially leading to a significant reduction in Black representation in Congress and at all levels of government.

Ashley Shelton states the 'Cala decision which to be clear eviscerates section two of the voting rights act' and means 'black voters and and all minorities... could lose the ability to elect a candidate of choice at every level of government.' Davin Roseboro calls it 'the end of the project of the Roberts Court to slowly piece by piece take apart the Voting Rights Act.'

Despite significant collective wealth, Black households earning $75,000 or more annually spend only 3-5% of their income within their own communities. This results in an estimated $2 trillion annually leaving the Black community. The Ohio Black Expo and its 'Hooku' app aim to counteract this by promoting Black-owned businesses and fostering economic self-sufficiency, emphasizing that 'no one is going to save us but us.'

Sherry Hamilton states, 'households of $75,000 or more annually are only spending uh 3 to 5% of our uh of our income inside of our community. So, so just pause real. We're saying 3 to 5%. So, what that means is 95% of our dollars in the black community is going outside of our own community.' Butch Hamilton adds, 'that's a roughly $2 trillion a year at this point.'

Brooklyn Org (formerly Brooklyn Community Foundation) practices community-led philanthropy, where funding decisions are guided by the community members closest to the issues. They pay community advisory committees to evaluate grant applications and focus explicitly on undoing structural racism. This model addresses the historical underfunding of Black organizations and provides a blueprint for effective, equitable resource distribution that can be replicated nationally.

Dr. Jocelyn Rainey explains, 'we are really focused on community-led philanthropy where we listen to community to understand what communities are grappling with and support communities where they need it most. We know that people closest to the issues know what the solutions are.' She also notes, 'black organizations have been um historically underfunded. Um black CEOs are underfunded.'