As a recipient of the award, Harris was recognized as an individual who has made a significant contribution in the area of racial equity, social justice, and human rights. The award was given by King County in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, whose theme this year was “Truth, Light, and Hope.”
Harris strives to ensure economic equality remains a crucial factor for healthy communities, according to a press release. In 2019, Harris became the CEO of the Kent Chamber of Commerce, playing an instrumental role in leading the Kent Chamber in its equity work. This comes naturally for Harris, who also leads other Chambers throughout King County, including the Renton Chamber, Kirkland Chamber, and Seattle Southside Chamber.
Through Harris’ leadership, she has diversified Board Member participation and introduced a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. To support both her own and other local chambers, Harris instituted equity talks, which are open to both chamber members and larger communities. By performing internal evaluations to understand where the challenges and needs are in order to meet equity goals, Harris’ presence as an innovative and caring leader remains steadfast.
Harris appeared nothing but honored and grateful upon receiving the Larry Gossett 2023 Service Award, stating “I am grateful for my tenacity to fight for others and my opportunity to sit at tables that were not designed for me but being savvy enough to extract pertinent and critical information to delineate what options are available for CBO’s, micro-businesses, home-based, and small businesses.”
Keyshia Cole Reacts To Twitter User Slamming Her for ‘Degrading Her Mother’ With Upcoming Biopic
There is a Keyshia Cole biopic in the works with the Lifetime network according to a report last year by The Jasmine Brand.
A Twitter user admonished Cole as she claimed that she knew that after her mother, Frankie Lons died (she passed away in July 2021), the singer would degrade her mother for her benefit. Cole responded directly to the user to speak her truth.
“I said it! As soon as @KeyshiaCole momma died she was going to used that opportunity as she always does and make it work for her. Now she is making a movie about Frankie she always degrading them for her benefit”
I said it! As soon as @KeyshiaCole momma died she was going to used that opportunity as she always does and make it work for her. Now she is making a movie about Frankie she always degrading them for her benefit
On Friday, Cole took the user, Nikita_Dondiva to task by defending her decision to speak about her truth and having it documented.
“Degrading my mother. ? I wanted the best for my mom. You prefer my story not be my story? At times I have too. But my truth is my truth. I just live mine loud. (while some suffer in silence. But This will come wit all that I do, So speak YOUR TRUTH, but yours ain’t mine.”
Degrading my mother. ? I wanted the best for my mom. You prefer my story not be my story? At times I have too. But my truth is my truth. I just live mine loud. (while some suffer in silence. But This will come wit all that I do, So speak YOUR TRUTH, but yours ain’t mine. 💕 https://t.co/w0mwoeAxRA
In July 2021, BLACK ENTERPRISE reported that Cole’s family confirmed Frankie passed away after suffering from an overdose. She had been battling an addiction to drugs for decades TMZreported.
Cole’s brother Sam informed the media that Lons overdosed at her Oakland home. She was partying and celebrating her birthday when she apparently took drugs after relapsing on her journey to sobriety.
Pepsi, NFL Team Up For Dig In Program To Help and Promote Black-Owned Restaurants
Fresh off its second annual Dig In Day, Pepsi and the NFL are bringing attention and exposure to Black-owned restaurants across the U.S. through its Dig In program.
The program, announced by Pepsi in 2020, provides Black-owned restaurants with the business resources they need and catering opportunities to help them financially. The NFL joined the program in 2021 and has used it to promote Black-owned eateries in cities where its offices are located by hiring them to provide food for its employees during the pandemic.
“In 2021 we received an invite to join the program by our partner Pepsi and it really was a natural fit for the NFL,” NFL Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Josephine Martinez tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “We have been very active in trying to support Black-owned businesses and small businesses so when we received the call we jumped on it.
“The really great thing that happened during that first year was we actually provided free meals to all of our employees due to the COVID protocols we had at the time and we knew the impact that we can make on some of these businesses placing catering orders for thousands of meals at once.”
During the 2022 Dig In Day last November, people were able to dine in or order from a litany of Black-owned restaurants across the country and upload their receipts to DigInPassport.com–a site that makes it easy to explore Black-owned restaurants, track purchases to show support, and more. Pepsi and the NFL also covered the tabs between $2,000 and $5,000 for select Black-owned restaurants to serve food in their communities.
The NFL and a host of other organizations, including the National Urban League (NUL), have also used the Dig In program to sponsor lunches for corporate executives and staffers around the country, providing Black-owned restaurants with an infusion of money to help their businesses.
The NFL joined the Dig In Program to add to its growing list of initiatives that increase diversity and business opportunities for Black entrepreneurs across the country.
One of those initiatives is the NFL’s Business Connect Program, which uses minority- and Black-owned businesses in the community where the NFL is holding an event including the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, and the NFL Draft.
“I would say that’s probably the most common piece where we’re actually at events like the Super Bowl,” Martinez says. “We are bringing in a number of small- and minority-owned businesses to the biggest stages in the world, whether that was last year at SoFi Stadium and others to get a taste of the local community, so not under the Dig In banner but definitely something that we’ve done for a number of years at our tentpole events.”
Kenneth Taitt, the owner of Kenny’s Q: Barbecue in Inglewood, California, near SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers, told BLACK ENTERPRISE the NFL made numerous catering orders for between 300 and 750 people in 2022—and didn’t stop there.
“The NFL revamped my whole restaurant,” says Taitt. “New signs and fresh paint inside and out that gave us a new landscape from a white building to black and red. Now people can see us and business has picked up 100 percent. The NFL has been very good to our restaurant and we are very thankful.”
Unique Eats, based in Queens, New York, is also part of the Dig In program. Owner Uniqua Grant praised the Dig In Program, saying it helped keep her restaurant open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During this pandemic, it’s been a struggle in some aspects to keep the business rolling every day,” Grant says. “Products were either unavailable or the price was sometimes triple. We understand our surrounding communities weren’t able to eat out as often as they were faced with their own adversaries to keep their own ducks in a row. We are grateful to still thrive through all of that.”
Sheryl Lee Ralph Delivers ANOTHER Powerful Speech at Critics Choice Awards
A little belief in yourself can take you far on the winding path to following your dreams.
Sixty-six year old Sheryl Lee Ralphis a shining example of what it means to truly believe in yourself and achieve your dreams in spite of what others may think. It also doesn’t hurt that Ralph had the support of renowned actor, Sidney Poitier, who she said encouraged her early on in her career, at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, Jan. 15.
Black actors experience their share of ups and downs in Hollywood. As a double minority, being Black and a woman, Ralph began experiencing the struggle at 19.
She emoted in her acceptance speech for best supporting actress in a comedy series for Abbott Elementary on Sunday, “Every mistake, every back break, every ‘No’, every rejection in an industry that when I was 19 years old was quick to tell me there was no place for me.”
Thankfully, for Ralph, Poitier, the first Black and Bahamian actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor was a supportive figure. The actress shared, “Sidney Poitier looked at me and said, ‘You’re a damn good actress,'” according to People.
As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, Ralph became the second Black woman to win an Emmy award for outstanding supporting actress for her role as a teacher in Abbott Elementary in September 2022.
Ralph inspires others to follow their dreams. She said in her speech on Sunday, “To all of you watching, come close to the screen and listen. People don’t have to like you, people don’t have to love you, people don’t even have to respect you. But when you look in the mirror, you better love what you see!” She concluded with an encouraging word, “To anyone who has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true, I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like.”
Meet the Women Behind the Line of Hygienic Hijabs Made for Muslims in Healthcare
Healthcare workers Yasmin Samatar and Faraoli Adam were on a mission to help keep Muslim healthcare workers and patients safe in the hospital, leading them to create a special line of hygienic hijabs.
According to TwinCities.com, the women, who are both 29 years old, found a hole in the industry when they realized there was no access to protective equipment for Muslim women like themselves. After traveling and working together in cities that were heavily hit by COVID-19 cases, the duo found significance in making the sterilized head coverings.
“COVID is deadly, and we all got familiar with the term PPE. But Muslim healthcare workers were left out because nobody thought about it,” Adam said.
The women took a leave from work in 2021 to take necessary steps toward launching their company. After securing a supplier, Samatar and Adam raised $10,000 in the fall.
After trial and error, they decided on disposable designs. The first design, the Zanub, features an adjustable elastic band around the face area and can be easily pulled over. The other design, the Ikram, is a wrap that fits all sizes. Rammy Mohamed of Ramadahn Designs is responsible for the designs.
They prioritized testing the product by holding different focus groups. “We had to find the right material so it’s not too hot or thick, but also not too sheer and meets hijabi modesty standards,” Samatar said. The women also made sure the hijabs met safety protocol through FDA Compliance. “We definitely called the FDA line like, all the time,” Adam said. “So it took a little bit more work.
They aim to sell their hijabs to hospitals, but healthcare workers can purchase products at a discount online at usmawadda.com. “Most people are shocked that this isn’t already provided in hospitals. And the recent push for diversity and inclusion definitely helped us,” Samatar said. “It’s created by us, for us. But having culturally appropriate protection won’t just affect us, it will affect everyone under the care of a Muslim woman: patients, families and communities,” Samatar said.
Mawadda officially launched November 9, and has gained international attention thanks to users in France, the United Kingdom, and China.
The 3 C’s That Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Can Teach Us Today To Advance Workplace Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
By Nikia White
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
It’s been more than 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. passed away. At the young age of 39, he managed to change the entire course of American history, from his influence as a pastor to his on-the-ground presence as a civil rights activist. Dr. King made the United States a more inclusive and equitable place not just for Black Americans but for all Americans. However, Dr. King’s success wouldn’t have been possible without courage, consistency and community.
These are the three C’s that we as entrepreneurs can use as guiding principles in our work toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). What can Dr. King teach us about courage, consistency and community – even in the face of resistance? Times have changed but the lessons live on. Here’s how the three C’s can help you progress DEI in your workplace.
1. Choose courage over comfort
The 1960s were a difficult time for people of color. Forced segregation, domestic servitude and limitations on what people of color were able to accomplish were solidly in place. Despite the pain and trauma this period caused so many people, those in power found plenty of reasons to leave the system in place.
Comfort can be paralyzing. Comfort can preserve the status quo so that a particular situation remains unchanged. Traditions and practices continue simply because “we’re used to them” or “it’s how things have always been.” It takes courage to see the other side, challenge the status quo and say, “We want change.” Dr. King demonstrated to us what it means to choose courage over comfort.
Dr. King once said, “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” The history of enslavement, segregation and the demoralization of Black people in America inspired a new dawn of leaders who were ready to tell a different story — a story of freedom, resiliency and courage.
Nowadays, some of us in the business world can be risk-averse when it comes to creating change. We don’t want to “switch it up” because having an all-white leadership team or having no women or minorities in the executive suite is how “things have always been.” How courageous would it be to implement Dr. King’s approach of choosing to speak up, having courageous conversations and pushing the envelope even when the larger group is resistant?
As leaders, how can we start conversations with those least affected by pay gaps, missed advancement opportunities, and racial inequality? What can we do today to be courageous in DEI? These are the questions that can help guide your progress in DEI.
2. Consistency is key
As a DEI consultant who’s been doing this work for decades, I’ve noticed a desire in people to have instant gratification with their DEI efforts. They invite me to speak or host a workshop in their workplace and they expect an instant change in their employees and culture.
If the instant gratification isn’t there, people jump ship quickly on their DEI efforts. It can feel frustrating to not get fast results in days or weeks. However, DEI is a journey, not a destination, and continuing to move forward is the key to getting lasting results.
Dr. King once said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” When it comes to DEI, the work becomes more rewarding as you move forward. As you remain consistent, patient and committed, you will notice a slow but steady change in individuals, cultures and workplaces.
While organizational change can take years, consistency is something you can commit to now to ensure incremental change happens sooner. Dr. King knew that, and despite years of defeats on a personal, professional and societal level, he remained committed and consistent with his pursuit of advancing civil rights.
Dr. King said, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” Being consistent with your DEI efforts will pay dividends. But giving up too soon or losing steam can negatively affect your business’ DEI progress.
3. Build energy with community
Dr. King knew how to speak to the Black population and get them on board with civil rights. But what about the white folks or those less affected by civil rights advancements? How was he able to advance his agenda to give Black people civil liberties while getting white folks on board?
It would have been impossible to advance civil rights in the 1960s without the allyship and comradery of people from all walks of life. Dr. King knew connecting across lines of race and gender to unite folks under a common mission was the key to advancing civil liberties.
We can learn a lot from Dr. King about how reaching across gender, race, age and class can help make the workplace more inclusive, diverse and equitable. Dr. King taught us that finding allies and utilizing each person’s influence and skillset for the betterment of the movement is an effective way to drive change.
If you want to advance DEI in the workplace, bravely reach across and get a privileged executive team member to join you, then invite people across different departments, and be sure to include those most impacted.
The more diverse, wide-reaching, and inclusive your community is, the more likely you are to be able to advance DEI at all levels of the organization, just like Dr. King did in the civil rights movement.
Dr. King gave us the tools, now we have to use them
Dr. King gave us the three C’s before he passed: courage, consistency and community. They are proven and effective tools for advancing DEI in society and the workplace. Now is the time to implement them and carry your DEI efforts further than they’ve ever gone before. There will always be resistance to change. We saw it in the 1960s and we see it now in the 2020s. However, change only comes when a brave group of people can build alliances, get organized and consistently work toward their DEI goals.
Celebrity Health Coach Koya Webb Encourages Community to Achieve Holistic Wellness This Year
This is a sign that it’s time to balance your mind, body, and spirit.
Health and wellness coaches are extending their practices, encouraging their communities to enhance their lifestyles and become more grounded by modeling healthier habits that everyone can incorporate into their new year routines.
Stretching her expertise in the industry, Koya Webb is an internationally recognized yoga instructor with over 15 years of holistic studies, amplifying the physical and mental benefits of holistic health practices.
The celebrity holistic health coach has committed herself to promoting daily self-care, oneness, and an eco-friendly lifestyle to combat mental health challenges, social injustices, and global warming.
With her core mission to help others launch into a healthier and more active lifestyle, Webb shared her personal journey shifting into yoga, personal training, and life coaching with BLACK ENTERPRISE.
Making the shift into the yoga and wellness community
Webb, a small town girl from Humboldt, Tennessee, was led into the holistic wellness community following an injury during her years as an athlete pursuing track and field.
“Being born and raised in the South, health wasn’t presented to me as a way of life. Prioritizing health was presented as something that you do only when you get sick,” Webb says.
“A counselor suggested I try yoga,” recalling her attempts toward recovery.
“Yoga and breath work really helped me heal my mind and body. When I took my first deep breath in class, I could feel the effect it had on my nervous system. Yoga helped me prioritize self-care everyday and I learned not to push myself too hard,” she adds.
Webb says the practice helped her heal—and changed her life.
Webb’s mission as a yoga instructor and holistic health coach
“My mission as a yoga teacher is to inspire as many people as possible to try yoga, and for those who are entrepreneurial my goal is to inspire them to get certified as a teacher because we need more teachers, especially Black women and men.”
Advice for yoga and wellness newbies
“My advice would be to trust yourself and trust your body. Try a couple of different things and see what feels the best. Once you find what feels good to you then be consistent. An accountability partner can be helpful if you don’t have a coach.”
Webb’s tips for navigating holistic wellness
Take things one day at a time.
“My biggest tip is to start one day at a time and one breath at a time. A lot of people try to do too much at once, but really if you just start with 1 mile a day or one or two yoga poses that you like, you can start to feel the benefits and not get too overwhelmed.
Partake in spiritual, physical, and mental exercises.
“Spirituality, I would recommend 10 deep breaths as soon as you wake up and sit in stillness for 10 mins,” Webb explains.
“Physically, I would recommend walking a mile a day and doing at least one yoga pose that feels good in your body. Mentally, I would recommend creating an affirmation that empowers you to repeat every morning and night,” she says.
Webb’s consistency landed her a sweet partnership
The wellness expert entered a partnership with Sunsweet, the prune company running the largest dried fruit plant in the world, to expand her mission to help those seeking healthier alternatives when it comes to indulging in sweets.
“I’ve partnered with Sunsweet to help enhance my wellbeing and show others how they can support their wellbeing and achieve their performance goals by simply adding California Prunes and Prune Juice to their routine,” Webb says.
“Adding California Prunes and Prune Juice from Sunsweet to your daily routine can help fuel your workouts and may even help you feel fuller longer so you can move through the day feeling energized and satisfied. For people looking for new ways to support their wellness in 2023, it can be as easy as adding California Prunes and Prune Juice to your day—pop a few prunes in your mouth for a snack or add prune juice into your favorite smoothie recipe.”
Webb believes communities should have access to wellness coaches and similar health resources.
“I think it’s important to have a coach during your wellness journey because it’s easy to get discouraged when you have an injury, miss a class, or face a challenge in life,” she says. “Accountability and encouragement really helps people stay consistent.”
Webb also hopes to see memberships under her coaching expand in numbers.
“My goal is to have 10,000 people working out together daily via my get loved up online membership. I would love to certify 1,000 teachers this year through my accredited yoga teacher training school and I would love to personally coach 20 wellness entrepreneurs in building their brands.”
The internationally recognized yoga teacher and celebrity holistic health coach also holds titles as an author, speaker, and vegan activist.
She is a registered RYT 500 yoga teacher, (with certifications in Ashtanga, Rayoka, SUP, AcroVinyasa, and AYfit), NASM certified for personal training, and graduated from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN).
Webb has starred in the reality show, Yoga Girls, and has attained a roster of celebrity clients, including Stevie Wonder, India Arie, and P. Diddy.
Natural Grocers Honors Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2023 With In-Store Fundraiser to Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
Natural Grocers®, the leading family-operated organic and natural grocery retailer in the U.S., is pleased to announce its upcoming in-store fundraising campaign in support of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. (JJOA) on January 16, 2023.
The GAP Fund is used to provide scholarship endowments to directly satisfy tuition debt of students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Natural Grocers pledges to donate 1% of sales from its 165 stores, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to help students attending HBCUs achieve their goals.
Raquel Isely, Vice President of Marketing for Natural Grocers states, “We’re pleased to continue our partnership with Jack and Jill of America, Inc. in 2023. Through this partnership, we became aware of the GAP Fund and its life-changing contributions. Every year, a notable number of seniors attending HBCUs are ineligible to graduate due only to small, unpaid bills. We humbly support JJOA’s fundraising initiative towards the GAP Fund and hope this donation can provide a direct lifeline for HBCU students to lessen the impact of tuition debt.”
Supporting Communities Together
The partnership between the two entities was born of a shared value system of commitment to the communities and families they serve through education and empowerment.
Natural Grocers has a longstanding history of giving back to its communities since it was established in 1955. With 165 stores in 21 states, Natural Grocers’ commitment is manifested by supporting the health and wellbeing of its communities with free Nutrition Education and high-quality affordable health and wellness choices that are accessible to all.
Founded in 1938, JJOA is proudly engaged with 262 chapters, representing more than 50,000 family members making a difference in communities nationwide. The organization is dedicated to nurturing future African American leaders by strengthening children through leadership development, volunteer service, philanthropic giving, and civic duty.
In addition to the national fundraising campaign on January 16, 2023, the partnership extends to a year-round give-back program with 13 JJOA regional chapters based in Colorado, Texas, Oregon, and Arkansas. Every JJOA member in these markets has received a Natural Grocers + Jack and Jill of America Partnership card, which when presented at a Natural Grocers checkout automatically triggers an uncapped 5% of sales give-back to the organization. 2.5% goes back to their chapter and 2.5% goes to the JJOA HBCU GAP Fund. Members also receive additional cards to share with friends and family.
Get It Steve! Steve Harvey Dances Into 66th Birthday With Wife Marjorie and Family
Can’t nobody dip and slide like a cat from Cleveland! — At least that’s how celebrated radio host and TV game show guru Steve Harvey would tell it on any given day.
But on his birthday, which is actually January 17, Harvey who celebrated a wee bit early, put on his dancing shoes with his Queen Marjorie Harvey by his side and danced the night away in a private disco, complete with a DJ playing his favorite hits.
Now that’s how you do it when you’ve paid your dues — you put on your dancing shoes and shimmy like there’s not a care in the world.
Except for Harvey, he cares deeply about his people and his family. So with his family by his side, including his daughters Lori, Karli and Brandi, and his sons, he brought in a new year approaching 66 surrounded by loved ones.
Steve Harvey and family (Instagram/screenshot)
There’s no word on where the Harvey crew celebrated Steve’s big day. But he shares the birthday week with Lori who celebrated her birthday Jan. 13 with her new beau Snowfall star Damson Idris who seemingly confirmed their romance by posting a PDA-packed photo with the model on his Instagram Story on Friday in honor of her 26th birthday, Page Sixreported.
As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, the British actor, 31, posted two photos of Harvey on his Instagram Stories Friday. One showed him kissing her on the cheek as they cuddled. Another showed Harvey holding up multiple stacks of money on what appeared to be the Snowfall set.
“The Plug,” he captioned the pic.
It looks like it may be official!! After a rumored romance, Damson Idris posted a photo of him and Lori Harvey to his IG story, as well as a solo photo of Lori pic.twitter.com/0KO1ZiwjBa
In Tribute to Civil Rights Leader King, Biden Invokes ‘Battle for the Soul of this Nation’
By Steve Holland
ATLANTA, Ga. (Reuters) -President Joe Biden told Americans to look towards Martin Luther King Jr.‘s life for lessons on repairing their divisions, extremism and injustice, as he become the first sitting U.S. president to speak at a Sunday service in the civil rights leader’s church in Atlanta.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at Ebenezer Baptist Church ahead of the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Marking Monday’s national holiday celebrating King, Biden delivered a sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church at the invitation of its pastor, Democratic U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, centered on a common theme – the country and the world are battling against autocratic forces.
“The fact is that I stand here at a critical juncture for the United States and the world in my view,” Biden said, calling it a “time of choosing.”
“Are we a people who will choose democracy over autocracy,” Biden asked. “We have to choose a community over chaos. Are we the people going to choose love over hate? These are the questions of our time and the reason I am here.”
King worked for voting rights, Biden said, but “we do well to remember that his mission was even deeper. It was spiritual. It was moral.”
King often asked ‘Where do we go from here?’ Biden said. “My message to the nation on this day is we go forward. We go together.”
Sunday would have been King’s 94th birthday. He was assassinated at age 39 in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, by avowed segregationist James Earl Ray. King was pastor of Ebenezer church from 1960 until his death.
U.S. President Joe Biden is greeted at Ebenezer Baptist Church ahead of the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
“The battle for the soul of this nation is perennial,” Biden said in his tribute to King. “It’s a constant struggle between hope and fear kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice.”
Many presidents, including Biden, have visited Ebenezer to honor King, usually during events around the time of his birthday. But Biden was the first to speak from the pulpit at a regular Sunday service.
King “reminds us that we are tied in a single garment of destiny, that this is not about Democrat and Republican, red, yellow, brown, black and white,” Warnock said earlier on Sunday.
U.S. President Joe Biden sits at Ebenezer Baptist Church ahead of the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
On Monday Biden will meet with civil rights advocate Al Sharpton in Washington, and speak to his group, the National Action Network.
Biden is expected to announce his re-election bid in the weeks ahead.
Biden was elected in 2020 with strong support from Black voters after pledging to do more to expand voting rights and address other racial justice issues. But some activist groups boycotted his 2022 speech honoring King, disappointed by what they see as his lack of action.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)
