• Business

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 9, 2020

The Board Challenge Launches Pledge for Companies to Add a Black Director to Their Boards

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The Board Challenge today announced the launch of a pledge for U.S. corporate boards of directors to add a Black director within the next year.

Founded by Altimeter Capital, Valence and theBoardlist, signed by 17 Founding Pledge Partners, and supported by 27 Charter Pledge Partners that already have at least one Black director, the initiative seeks to accelerate action to improve the diversity of corporate boards starting with the representation of Black leaders on the boards of U.S. companies. Every U.S. company is encouraged to take the pledge at theboardchallenge.org and companies that have at least one Black director are asked to sign on to express their support and use their resources to drive change.

The Board Challenge launches with the support of companies and individuals representing a wide array of industries and sectors including corporate, non-profit, and training and education. These supporters include organizations such as the Executive Leadership Council, the NAACP and National Urban League who commit to supporting the mission and using their platforms to drive awareness and participation in the movement.

Founding Pledge Partners commit to adding at least one Black director to their respective boards in the next 12 months. Participants include: Accolade, Altimeter Growth Corp, Amperity, Bolster, Gusto, Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc., Heritage Environmental Services, HopSkipDrive, Kin, M.M.LaFleur, Nextdoor, PagerDuty, RealSelf, Ripple, Senreve, Vinyl Me, Please, and Zillow. The Board Challenge co-founders will check in with Founding Pledge Partners within six months and at 12 months to evaluate their progress in adding a Black director.

Charter Pledge Partners are organizations that already have at least one Black director and will continue to use their resources to accelerate change. Charter Pledge Partners play a critical role in driving visibility around the importance and value of increasing diversity at the boardroom level. Participants include: Avnet, Broadridge Financial Solutions, CDK Global, Cockroach Labs, Corning Incorporated, Elovee, Executive Leadership Council, Impact Capital Managers, Lightspeed, Lyft, Merck, Nasdaq, Nordstrom, Okta, Ranpak, Redfin, Ro, Sonos, Southern California Public Radio, SurveyMonkey, The New York Stock Exchange, The RealReal, Uber, United Airlines, Upstart, Verizon, and WW (formerly Weight Watchers).

Black leaders are underrepresented in America’s public and private boardrooms. Approximately 66% of Fortune 500 company board members are white men and 18% of members are white women, while only 9% of members are Black men and women, according to a report by the Alliance for Board Diversity and Deloitte. And while many companies tout their commitment to improve diversity, equity and inclusion, progress at the boardroom level is limited. According to Black Enterprise, 187 S&P 500 companies, or about 37%, did not have any Black directors in 2019 – only a two percentage point improvement since 2018.

“America has been reminded again in tragic fashion that we must redouble our efforts to build a more inclusive society. Business leaders can’t let this moment pass us by without playing our part and taking this tangible step to build a more diverse boardroom,” said Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital and co-founder of The Board Challenge.

“As a next step, we are encouraging companies to take the pledge and add a Black director in the next 12 months. The Board Challenge is a movement to accelerate these changes and help companies tap into the energy and talents of all underrepresented groups.”

True and full racial representation at the board level is in the best interest of companies, employees, customers, and communities and helps to advance and support a more equitable society.

• Diverse boards of directors are 43% more likely than non-diverse boards to achieve financial
  performance above the national industry median for companies in the top quartile versus
  bottom quartile, according to McKinsey & Company’s Delivering Through Diversity 2018
  report.

• More than nine in 10 directors (94%) agree that board diversity brings unique perspectives to the boardroom, according to PwC’s 2019 Annual Corporate Directors Survey. Additionally, 87% said board diversity enhances board performance and 76% said it enhances company
  performance.

• More than half (53%) of investors say board diversity should be a top focus, according to a 2019 report from the EY Center for Board Matters. As part of taking the pledge, partners commit to progress reports along the way, including six-month and one-year reporting on results with participants. The Board Challenge co-founders will provide partners with access to qualified talent to help in their search and recruitment of Black director candidates, while supporters will offer resources and training.

“One objection we hear is whether companies can find the kind of diverse board talent they are looking for. It is 2020 – it is not a pipeline problem, it is a perspective problem,” said Guy Primus,CEO of Valence and co founder of The Board Challenge. “Valence alone is connected to hundreds of board-ready leaders from every position imaginable.”

“Another objection is that the focus on diverse candidates is too narrow. We know focus yields results and this is the start of a much bigger movement,” said Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, founder and chairman of theBoardlist and co-founder of The Board Challenge. “theBoardlist has been focused on diversifying boards since 2015 and we know that making the commitment to look outside one’s network and dedicating the effort to be inclusive is ultimately what works.”

Find more information about pledge participants and supporters, take the pledge and offer support at theboardchallenge.org.

Sponsored by 

As Joe Biden continues to rally support for his presidential run, his campaign has been focused on connecting with a vital segment of the constituency: Black business owners. To achieve that end, it has launched “Make It Happen Mondays,” a series of weekly virtual roundtables designed for African American entrepreneurs to share their challenges as well as learn more about the Democratic presidential candidate’s innovative approaches and strategies to fuel business growth.

Gaining regular access to campaign officials, surrogates, and business leaders through such programming is critical for those who own and operate firms most devastated by COVID-19—an estimated 40% have been shuttered since the beginning of the pandemic—and have been traditionally hamstrung by the lack of capital and contracts, among other obstacles.

“An overarching goal when engaging our key constituency groups is meeting people where they are—in spaces they feel most comfortable, with people they know and focusing on issues they’re concerned about,”  Kamau Marshall, the campaign’s director of strategic communications, told BLACK ENTERPRISE in an email.

“Make it Happen Mondays, coordinated by Director of African American Engagement Trey Baker, is the perfect example of bringing like minds together to not only empower voter participation this fall, but to inspire leaders and change-makers in all walks of life. We are confident that these weekly conversations with Black business owners will underline the commitment of a Biden-Harris administration in promoting systemic change and strengthening the Black business community.”

Harris Reaches Out To Black Business On Campaign Trail

The campaign’s recent outreach has included Sen. Kamala Harris’ Labor Day campaign stop in Milwaukee where she spoke to entrepreneurs at a “Build Back Better” Black Business Roundtable. During her appearance, she advocated “the importance of building an entrepreneurial class.”

“Having our government, and as our priorities, it is part of Joe Biden and my priority, investing in entrepreneurship and investing not only through the work that we will do that is about access to capital to the small businesses administration, access to capital about putting money into opportunity zones is one part of it but also $150 billion in new capital and opportunities around investing in private venture capital as well as what the government can do,” she stated. “This is about an investment in not only those specific communities but in our country. Understanding that some of the greatest sources of wealth and inter-generational wealth come about through that kind of focus.”

She further emphasized the value of community banks, citing that up to 90% of minority- and women-owned small businesses did not gain the benefit of the Payment Protection Program (PPP) funds “in large part because unlike how Donald Trump has been concerned about the wealthy, the people who are working every day and trying to raise their families don’t have access to those kind of relationships.”

Among the other initiatives that the VP nominee shared was a proposal to make tax credits permanent to increase “funding to as much as $5 billion annually to provide credit for equity investment for small businesses that benefit low- and moderate-income areas.”

Why Making It Happen Monday Matters

Harris’ session was held a few hours before the latest MIHM episode. Co-hosted by New York State Assemblyman and Democratic National Committee Chair Michael Blake and entrepreneur and influencer Binta Brown, the weekly sessions focus on, among other topics, COVID-19 relief, expanded access to capital, technical assistance, and the unique challenges faced by female entrepreneurs.

Blake believes the program is critical for the future of African Americans. “The COVID Era has prompted the question of Black survival. Many of us talk about survival in terms of whether we physically will make it through but the day but it also has to be the question of whether Black business will make it to tomorrow,” he maintains. “Many feel that the paramount issue before us is the economic condition of Black business and the impact that it has on the Black community. Why we need Biden and Harris to win is that I don’t know if Black business will survive if they don’t.”

Blake also says Harris’ Milwaukee visit demonstrated that the campaign’s emphasis on Black business development as being as critical as social justice: “It is not just are we afraid we can’t breathe. It’s not just are we wondering if we can survive police brutality. We’re asking whether we can economically survive, and we can’t without Black business.”

“So that’s why Making It Happen Mondays are so important for us to demonstrate on a continual basis that the way we will show massive change if given the chance is by providing economic opportunity for Black business. Now, we have to create awareness so more people can understand their plan.”

Blake, who says he has worked closely with Biden on such issues as financial regulatory reform during his days in the Obama administration and has known Harris since the 2008 campaign, says MIHM will make businesses aware of key proposals such as the rescue package to put small businesses on a better financial footing, SBA reforms to help companies gain more access to financing, and strengthening the Minority Business Development Agency by elevating the agency head to assistant secretary status and vesting him or her with lending authority. He believes session attendees will be armed with the information to make the best choice come Election Day.

Brown, who is the founder of omalilly projects, an artist management, and production company, says the roundtable series will help draw entrepreneurs to the Biden-Harris ticket given the racial equity component incorporated in its economic plan as a means to combat “the systemic racism that is baked into” bank financing, government contracting, employee wages and other such areas—all of which have stymied the growth of African American-owned businesses before the pandemic-infused economy.  “It doesn’t matter the size of the company,” she asserts. “Most Black businesses continue to lack liquidity.”

Adds Blake: “Black entrepreneurs need capital, contracts, counseling, and opportunity.

Highlighting The Perseverance of Black Entrepreneurs

More than just a program focusing on policy issues, Blake maintains that MIHM “gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to tell their stories.” That was evident with this week’s panelists that included Natalie Madeira Cofield, founder and CEO of Walker’s Legacy, a global women’s business collective for enterprising multicultural women; Darian Hall, co-founder of HealHaus, the Brooklyn, New York-based wellness company; and David Clunie, executive director of the Black Economic Alliance PAC, a political action group of leading Black executives and entrepreneurs who made news last week with its endorsement of the Biden-Harris ticket.

Even though there has not been a gender breakdown of business ownership tied to the percentage of COVID-19 related Black-business closures, Madeira Cofield believes that Black female-owned businesses have suffered given that “roughly 60% of Black businesses are started and run by black women.”

She says: “At this stage, the information that we have from outlets and partners have been anecdotal. We still don’t know how severe it has been yet. We know what it’s like to close a storefront but what does it look like to close online businesses or closing manufacturing plants.”

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 Economy, Madiera Cofield maintains that Black businesses can make significant advances though she believes giving the MBDA more teeth or bolstering government programs like discarding the graduation schedules for minority firms who participate in the federal 8(a) set-aside program will prove helpful.

“In every moment of chaos, there is opportunity. As people know. the Chinese character for chaos is the same for opportunity,” she says. “We are still seeing great stories of Black business persevering during this period. People who have established businesses are now corona-proof, which means this situation has caused Black businesses to propel themselves into the digital era.”

Hall’s HealHaus, which, among other services, holds yoga and meditation classes and operates a cafe with vegan and gluten-free offerings, represents one of those enterprises. The pandemic forced him to close his company’s physical operations in mid-March because HealHaus was not classified as an essential business. He also had to put his financing plans on hold.

The crisis forced Hall to quickly transition into a digital company in which he and his team offer online classes. “unless you were in New York, you couldn’t really experience HealHaus,” he says. “When we put everything online, it opened up programming to the nation.” Moreover, due to his quick action and impeccable As a result, his annual $350,000 in annual revenues seems on track to grow by some 15%.

Although Hall was one of the fortunate entrepreneurs who were able to gain PPP financing, he says that “the most frustrating thing has been to see these multimillion-dollar businesses get money while most mom-and-pop businesses couldn’t get any. Black folks are always affected the most.”

Hall says MIHM has proven to be an invaluable vehicle in giving Black entrepreneurs a voice. “I’m glad these conversations through Making It Happen Mondays. They’re definitely not happening with the other side. Now, we have to make sure we turn these conversations into real action.”

Produced by African Americans for Biden, Make It Happen Mondays airs Weekly on Black Enterprise’s social media platforms including Facebook and LinkedIn.

• Black Lives Matter

by Dana Givens

September 9, 2020

93% of Black Lives Matter Protests Have Been Peaceful, Report Says

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The Black Lives Matter protests have polarized the country with thousands coming out to call for justice for those killed by police officers and to end racial injustice. Many have criticized demonstrations for leading to businesses being looted and violent confrontations with law enforcement officials. A recent poll showed that 42% of people believed most protesters associated with the Black Lives Matter movement were trying to incite violence.

However, a new study contradicts those claims and proves that most protests have been peaceful.

According to a new report by Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), more than 93% of Black Lives Matter protests have been peaceful after analysis of more than 7,700 demonstrations held throughout the 50 states and Washington D.C since the death of George Floyd in May of this year.

“While the US has long been home to a vibrant protest environment, demonstrations surged to new levels in 2020,” the report says. “Between 24 May and 22 August, ACLED records more than 10,600 demonstration events across the country. Over 10,100 of these — or nearly 95% — involve peaceful protesters. Fewer than 570 — or approximately 5% — involve demonstrators engaging in violence. Well over 80% of all demonstrations are connected to the Black Lives Matter movement or the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In the report, violent demonstrations are outlined as “acts targeting other individuals, property, businesses, other rioting groups or armed actors.” Their definition includes anything from “fighting back against police” to vandalism, property destruction looting, road-blocking using barricades, burning tires, or other materials. In cities where protests did turn violent—these demonstrations are “largely confined to specific blocks.”

The project also highlights authorities using excessive forcing citing that police officers have “disproportionately used force while intervening in demonstrations associated with the BLM movement, relative to other types of demonstrations” while referencing instances of police cars being rammed into a crowd or attacks tied to hate groups.

• News

by Derek Major

September 9, 2020

Kamala Harris Visits Blake Family, Black Business Owners, And Workers During Milwaukee Trip

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Senator and Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris spent Tuesday visiting Jacob Blake’s family in Milwaukee.

According to pool reports, Harris made several trips around the city but first visited with Blake’s family. Blake was shot in the back eight times by Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer Rusten Sheskey last month. Harris spoke to Blake by phone and met with Blake’s father and sister along with other family members.

The meeting was not on Harris’ schedule and reporters did not know about the meeting until after it concluded.

“They’re an incredible family and what they’ve endured and they do it with such dignity and grace,” Harris said after the meeting, according to Madison 365. “And you know, they’re carrying the weight of a lot of voices on their shoulders.” She added that the message to the family from the campaign was “just to, one, to express concern for their well-being and of course, for their brother and their son’s well being and to let them know that they have support.”

Harris also toured an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers training facility and held a round-table discussion with Black business owners. The discussion included Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, real estate investor Que-El Amin, Sherman Phoenix co-founder Joanne Sabir, and members of the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention.

“Today, of course, is Labor Day,” Harris said after the discussion. “And so part of the work that we’ve been doing today is to honor the men and women of labor, including — and we talked about this — the pride that Milwaukee and so many of us have in organized labor, and the Lieutenant Governor talked about that. What we must do to always support the working man and woman to be able to [have] collective thinking and collective bargaining and have all the wages and benefits that come with a hard day’s work. And the acknowledgment of the dignity of work.”

Harris also greeted fans and supporters outside the meeting, several of whom wore pink and green, the colors of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, of which Harris is a member.

After her roundtable with Black biz owners in Milwaukee, @KamalaHarris walked out to address ~45 fans standing across the street. “I need your help in Milwaukee, OK? We’re going to get this done. Make sure everybody votes early, right?” @axios pic.twitter.com/NYiZBBseYR

— Alexi McCammond (@alexi) September 7, 2020

“We’ve got to get this done, I need your help,” Harris told supporters. “Make sure everybody votes early, get your ballot by September 17, and October 20th early voting starts. That’s my birthday.”

Harris also met with Executive Director Christine Neuman-Ortiz, board President Jose Flores, and several volunteers of Voces de la Frontera, a membership-based community organization led by low-wage workers, immigrants, and youth in Milwaukee.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 9, 2020

Trump Admits in Upcoming Book to Knowing How Deadly the Coronavirus Was and ‘Wanted to Always Play It Down’

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In a book that is scheduled to be released next week, President Donald Trump admits to knowing the severity of the effects of coronavirus according to CNN.

Journalist Bob Woodward, who has a book titled “Rage” being released September 15th, had been given access to Trump for 18 wide-ranging interviews. The interviews were recorded by Woodward with Trump’s permission, and CNN has obtained copies of some of the audiotapes. They are from sessions between December 5, 2019, to July 21, 2020.

“This is deadly stuff,” Trump had told Woodward on February 7. In a series of interviews, Trump revealed that he had a very high level of detail about the threat of the coronavirus earlier than previously known. “Pretty amazing,” Trump told Woodward, saying that the coronavirus was maybe five times “more deadly” than the flu.

Back in early February, Trump told Woodward he knew how deadly the virus was, and then in March, the president admitted that he kept that information hidden from the public.

“I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward on March 19, although he had declared a national emergency several days earlier. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”

On March 19, Trump told Woodward he was purposely downplaying the dangers to avoid creating a panic.

Here’s the transcript from that call.

Trump: Now it’s turning out its not just old people, Bob. Just today and yesterday, some startling facts came out. It’s not just old- older.

Woodward: Yeah, exactly.

Trump: Young people too, plenty of young people.

Woodward: So, give me-

Trump: So what’s going on-

Woodward: -a moment of talking to somebody, going through this with Fauci or somebody who kind of, it caused a pivot in your mind. Because it’s clear, just from what’s on the public record that you went through a pivot on this to, ‘oh my god, the gravity is almost inexplicable and unexplainable.’

Trump: Well I think, Bob, really, to be honest with you-

Woodward: Sure, I want you to be.

Trump: I wanted to- I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.

The book highlights how Trump has taken credit but not any of the responsibility for his actions related to the coronavirus as it has infected 6 million Americans and killed more than 185,000 in the US.

“The virus has nothing to do with me,” Trump told Woodward in their final interview in July. “It’s not my fault. It’s — China let the damn virus out.”

• News

by Derek Major

September 9, 2020

Most Americans Say Their Personal Finances Haven’t Improved Under Trump

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More than 70% of Americans say their personal finances haven’t improved since Donald Trump won the presidential election four years ago.

According to the survey, released in June by Bankrate.com, 26% of respondents believe their finances improved since Trump moved into the White House in 2017. Another 25% said their finances have gotten worse while 40% said their finances have not changed.

Those who say their finances have improved over the last four years are mostly male, white, college graduates, baby boomers, and individuals earning $80,000 or more.

“Despite the president’s rhetoric about his superior handling of the economy, Americans are very much divided as to whether they’d be better off with him still at the helm,” Mark Hamrick, Bankrate.com senior economic analyst told FOX Business. “No matter which candidate is sitting in the White House after Inauguration Day in 2021, significant economic challenges will persist.”

The survey also shows the country is divided over which presidential candidate would be better for their personal finances in the next year as the coronavirus pandemic continues and the economic recession continues to get worse for states.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said Trump’s reelection will be best for their finances, while 39% said their finances will improve under Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. One in 6 respondents say they are unsure which candidate will improve their finances.

“The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic downturn have shaken-up everyday lives and the political landscape with it,” Hamrick said, noting about 13% of respondents think their finances could actually deteriorate next year, but the majority — 39% — anticipate things staying the same.

“That wouldn’t tend to reflect well on any incumbent president, providing Joe Biden an opportunity,” Hamrick added.

The economy ran smoothly under the first three years of Trump’s first term, but the coronavirus and Trump’s refusal to acknowledge its seriousness led to millions being unemployed and the first economic recession in the U.S. since the 2008 housing crisis. The government’s impasse on a second coronavirus relief package is only making things worse as Americans hang on by threads.

• Politics

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 9, 2020

Former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann: ‘Transgender Black Marxists’ are ‘Seeking the Overthrow of the United States’

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Former congresswoman Michele Bachmann recently said in an interview that “transgender Black Marxists are seeking the overthrow the United States and the dissolution of the traditional family,” according to Salon.

The former congresswoman appeared on televangelist Kenneth Copeland’s “The Victory Channel” early last week when she made the statement. She also claimed that Democratic Presidential nominee, Joe Biden, and protesters intended to destroy the economy and impose a global Communist government.

“Antifa is, if you go to their website, their materials, they are directly traceable to the Communist Party because their goal is the overthrow of the United States government and to bring communism into America,” Bachmann said. “Just like Black Lives Matter, this is not a new movement either. On their website, these are transgender Marxists, transgender Black Marxists who are seeking the overthrow of the United States and the dissolution of the traditional family.”

“What people need to understand is that 103 years ago, there were no communist countries in this world,” she said. “But this same idea where you have a pretext, you create something—like right now the pretext in America is race wars, that we’re seeing race wars on America’s streets—what this is is a cover to bring about communism and a communist takeover. It happened in communist China. It happened in Venezuela, many countries. What people need to understand, the viewers is that we currently right now are in a situation where communists are trying to come in and take over America.”

“You say,  ‘Aren’t you a little overheated? Isn’t this melodramatic?’” Bachmann continued. “This is exactly what a communist revolution looks like. They think they’re going to do it by electing Joe Biden and then once Joe Biden is elected, they think that these Davos, Switzerland, meetings that go on, they think that what they’re going to do is have the United States’ economy collapse, move to a digital currency globally, and then we move into a global-type government. I mean, it’s bizarre, but this is their goal.”

• News

by Derek Major

September 9, 2020

ADP, The Biggest US Payroll Service, Will Not Implement Trump’s Payroll Tax Order For Some Clients

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ADP, which processes the paychecks of millions of Americans, announced it will not offer a means to implement the controversial White House executive order to stop collecting a 6.2% Social Security levy.

“ADP TotalSource has decided to not take part in the deferral, and it will not be an option for any client or employee,” an ADP staffer wrote in an email seen by Fortune.

An ADP spokesperson told Fortune the clients who use its TotalSource product will not have an option to take part in the deferral. However, other clients will be able to suspend the Social Security collection at their discretion. The spokesperson added its TotalSource product is used by more than 13,000 firms and the executive order puts responsibility for federal tax liability and penalties on ADP.

In early August, President Trump signed an executive order deferring the collection of payroll taxes from employees through the end of 2020. The payroll tax is a 6.2% tax on an employee’s salary (up to $137,700 for 2020) that is withheld from their paycheck to fund Social Security, and the employer pays another 6.2%.

Trump touted the order as a way to keep money in the pockets of Americans suffering from the coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout. However, the payroll tax cut will only suspend the tax. Workers will still owe the tax in 2021. Additionally, many economists have pointed out that the executive order would effectively kill Social Security by 2023.

ADP, which serves more than 800,000 businesses across the country, published a guide for employers last week explaining to employees that Trump’s order is simply a deferral and not a tax cut.

The U.S. government will implement the payroll tax deferral for its employees beginning later this month. The move has led critics to say the government is treating its employees like guinea pigs.

President Trump suggested Congress could forgive the tax deferral by means of legislation when he signed the order, but there is no indication that will happen for now.

• Technology

by John Stankey

September 9, 2020

A Game Plan to Finally Connect Every American to Broadband

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According to a recent Gallup survey, more than 60 percent of Americans have been able to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to high-speed internet connections. Since 1996, U.S. broadband providers have invested nearly $2 trillion to connect our communities, incentivized by sound, pro-investment policies. This private investment has been well spent, providing most American consumers good value over some of the world’s best networks.

But there’s a problem: Our networks still don’t reach everyone, and private dollars alone won’t solve this challenge.

Although America’s broadband networks have performed extremely well during the pandemic, it’s troubling that many rural and low-income families don’t have the internet access they need to work and learn. This disparity has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has laid bare the challenge of our longstanding digital divide.

The truth is that the “homework gap”—the inability of low-income or rural students to access online educational resources—has grown, particularly for students of color, students with disabilities, and students in rural and under-resourced neighborhoods. Millions of American families cannot afford or may lack access to the high-speed internet connection they need to work and learn from home. According to Pew Research, 15 percent of U.S. households with school-age children do not have a high-speed internet connection; for households incomes below $30,000 a year, 35 percent don’t have high-speed internet.

Our country needs to close that gap, and now is the time for legislators and policymakers to act to ensure the educational and economic success of all Americans by making broadband connectivity more accessible, affordable and sustainable. Market forces and private companies can’t do it alone because of the lack of return on the significant investment necessary to reach all Americans. But it is in society’s interest for our government to financially incentivize the investments necessary to ensure that all children can learn, and all workers can do their jobs. Through a mix of public subsidies for low-income households and smart policies that encourage new infrastructure investment in unserved areas, we can finally close this gap.

Here are four specific things Congress and the administration can do to meet the goal of bringing high-speed broadband to every American family:

First, we need to identify where broadband is unavailable with geographic precision.

To close the digital divide, we must know the contours of where the divide starts and ends. We need to telescope our broadband maps from the macro, census-block level to the micro, building level to understand with more precision where broadband is unavailable. The government’s existing mapping methodology is past its shelf life. Currently, it does not identify the exact number and location of households that do not have meaningful broadband service, especially in rural areas. Congress recognized this in March by passing the Broadband DATA Act, which will create a more accurate and detailed map of broadband availability, helping companies like mine have the information needed to determine the focus and cost of deployment. The only problem is that Congress hasn’t yet appropriated the funds for the more granular maps, although legislation is currently pending.

Second, the Federal Communication Commission’s program that supports connectivity for low-income households needs to be modernized.

Called “Lifeline,” the program began as a subsidy for phone service, not for high-speed internet. The program has been successful, but it’s time to shift its focus to the internet to foster equality and economic opportunity.

Lifeline’s funding structure also needs an update. The existing program is largely paid for by a narrow set of Americans, those who still rely primarily on voice phone services; these Americans see a 26.6 percent fee on their bills that seemingly grows quarterly. It is effectively a regressive tax on consumers, a policy that absurdly hurts those it is intended to help. Instead, Lifeline should be funded through direct congressional appropriations instead of the antiquated, inefficient and unsustainable excise tax on an ever-shrinking base of voice phone services. Since the internet benefits all Americans, we should have a system that more broadly and fairly distributes responsibility for the subsidies, and ultimately lowers the financial impact per person to connect Americans.

We should also provide beneficiaries of this program with the ability to receive benefits electronically and make digital payments in the same way USDA’s SNAP card replaced food stamps. This would be a more efficient and secure approach to keeping low-income consumers connected.

Third, as Congress debates earmarking up to $80 billion for rural broadband as part of the next round of pandemic relief, we should give equal weight to wired and wireless options.

The FCC currently heavily weights subsidies toward gigabit speeds (fiber) over other technologies (such as fixed wireless). It is simply not practical or responsible to assume a fiber broadband service can be delivered to every unserved rural household—the prohibitive cost is part of why connecting many of these households has been uneconomical. Proposed solutions should also support wireless solutions, so long as they can meet defined performance criteria, and satellite may be required to reach the most remote locations. Being overly prescriptive on the technology solution could result in some homes being permanently unserved. Policy, informed by practical engineering, can achieve all the economic and social benefits of gigabit technology at a fraction of the cost—something every taxpayer should want and expect.

Lastly, Washington should enact a policy framework that incorporates sustainable funding mechanisms for the long run.

As policymakers roll up their sleeves to modernize these programs and fund them through direct appropriations, they should not forget how we got as far as we have. Maintaining a regulatory approach that sustains continued private investment in deployment and upgrades is just as important as modernizing the patchwork of public sector programs. Industry investment provides stability in jobs and overall economic growth. Imposing unrelated and unnecessary regulations will make greater private sector investment less sustainable. Both public sector programs and private sector investment have their roles to play in bringing broadband to all Americans so our children can access remote education and provide our workforce with tools for today’s economy.

Failure to act on such policies will serve only to further disenfranchise young Americans who already face precarious social, economic, and familial situations, further delaying our journey to equality in justice and economic opportunity. Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. Supporting them through this current public health crisis—and beyond—is a social, business, and economic imperative.

With so many students having to learn virtually this fall, and with so many workers now dependent on home internet connections to keep their jobs, now is the time for us to work together to ensure all American families have access to critical connectivity and the resources needed to meet the urgent challenges of today and tomorrow. If policymakers fail to act, today’s “homework gap” will not only exacerbate the proverbial “generation gap,” but we will have failed to bridge it.

John Stankey is CEO of AT&T. This article originally appeared in Politico.

This op-ed does not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of BLACK ENTERPRISE.

• COVID-19

by Derek Major

September 9, 2020

New Ads Encourage Minorities To Participate in Coronavirus Vaccine Trials

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A group funded by the National Institutes of Health has released a set of ads encouraging Black and Latino Americans to participate in clinical trials for coronavirus vaccines.

“When everything looks bleak, we know that someone somewhere is full of hope and strength and wants to take action,” says one ad, showing a series of Black people. “Walking the walk and rolling their sleeves to go to normal sooner.”

The advertisements feature Black and Latino Americans pointing to their arms where a coronavirus vaccine injection would be given, then a nurse appears to give a Black man a shot. The ad ends featuring the website, preventCOVID.org, where people can sign up to join a trial.