Opportunity Agenda for Black America

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

We salute Vice President Kamala Harris for her leadership and innovative Economic Opportunity Agenda for America’s future economic development progress. In particular, for underserved communities of color this is good news. Especially for Black Americans striving to gain economic sustainability, all opportunities to achieve financial freedom and equity should be given priority attention and engagement.

The Harris Agenda emphasizes the need to provide people, “With the tools to achieve financial freedom, lower costs to better provide for themselves and their families and protect their rights.” I believe that increasing financial literacy on all the new and evolving financial assets including cryptocurrencies is also strategically important.

Too often, marginalized communities are consigned to the sidelines to witness the economic innovation and progress of others. Yet today, I believe that Black America should take a deeper and a more informed look at the emerging marketplace for cryptocurrency. I am not an expert on crypto, but I know that in the communities that I have worked for civil rights over the past 60 years deserve to have greater access to information and knowledge that is factual and honest about the specific benefits that may come from attaining crypto digital assets.

I coined the term “Crypto Black” as timely call to action to Black Americans — and actually to all Americans — to take seriously the need to do personal and collective research, study and appropriate responses to the opportunities to gain greater financial literacy about the tools and potential benefits of acquiring cryptocurrency.

There are multiple collaborative roles that the government, the private sector, and civil society must all do together to advance the opportunity agenda in the crypto space.

First, we need to foster better financial literacy education about digital assets inside the Black Community. Too many Black Americans have fallen prey to major scammers inside this space – and too few have been able to access the windfall of opportunities from innovation in cryptocurrency. How do we close this gap? Education. We need community workshops on cryptocurrency literacy, just like we have had in the past on financial literacy. Black Americans can – and should – be leaders in adopting this revolutionary technology, but we need to understand how it works, and how to access its benefits.

In his recent book, “Hijacking Bitcoin,” Roger Ver – one of the founding fathers of cryptocurrency – shares how he and others sought to spread this technology to unlock financial freedom for people around the world but have had to grapple with scammers and self-interested individuals who flooded into the space. Ver bears many scars from this decade-plus fight. He and others who are advancing cryptocurrencies for the right reasons should find ways and means to work with Black business leaders in the United States Black Chamber (USBC), the National Urban League and with many others.

Second, we need to ensure that the growing number Black crypto CEOs and entrepreneurs have a seat at the most important industry tables. While there are a few in the Black community that have been early adopters of cryptocurrency, we have not seen enough Black founders and CEOs at the head of the most important digital asset companies. There are many areas where a future President Harris could help promote Black leaders in this field. One idea for the next Administration is to host regular conversations on crypto and ensure that Black crypto entrepreneurs have a leadership role.

Third, digital assets if properly researched and attained can help to unlock innovative wealth advancement for millions of Black Americans. I am hopeful personally that our next President of the United States, Kamala Harris, will seize this moment with a bold vision and a series of forward-looking public policies. “Crypto Black” will be good for Black America.

Benjamin F, Chavis Jr. is the President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and a long-term civil rights leader who can be reached at dr.bchavis@nnpa.org.