Angela Glover Blackwell is an American attorney, civil rights advocate, and author. In 1999, she founded the research and advocacy nonprofit organization

PolicyLink PolicyLink is a national research and action institute dedicated to advancing economic and social equity. It focuses on policies affecting low-income communities and communities of color. It is a nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California, ...

and currently serves as its Founder in Residence after twenty years as president and CEO. Blackwell regularly provides expert commentary in a variety of news media and hosts the podcast ''Radical Imagination''.

Early life and education

Blackwell grew up in racially-segregated St. Louis, Missouri, and then completed a B.A. at Howard University. In 2005, Blackwell discussed her childhood in St. Louis with '' Yes!'' magazine, stating, "For African-American families such as my own, community was the scaffolding that allowed us to achieve our visions in a society where we were locked out of the mainstream. By building strong communities, we were able to create our own pathways to personal fulfillment." She later completed her J.D. at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

Career

Blackwell was a Managing Attorney at the public-interest law firm Public Advocates from 1977 to 1987, which included work on class action lawsuits and firm strategy development. In 1979, she advocated for a grocery store in

Bayview–Hunters Point, San Francisco Bayview–Hunters Point (sometimes spelled Bay View or Bayview) is the San Francisco, California, neighborhood combining the Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods in the southeastern corner of the city. The decommissioned Hunters Point Naval Sh ...

, and while unsuccessful at the time, Gov.

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

then formed a commission to address the issue of

food desert Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ing ...

s. In 1987, Blackwell founded Urban Strategies Council in Oakland, California, which focuses on the needs of children and families with data-driven public policy advocacy and community organizing. After her work at the Urban Strategies Council, Blackwell was then a senior vice president and oversaw the Domestic and Cultural divisions at the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

for three years, where she focused on policy issues related to race and inclusion, and developed programs. In 1999, Blackwell founded PolicyLink, a research and advocacy nonprofit organization focused on economic and social equity for low-income people and communities of color. PolicyLink is staffed by attorneys and public policy experts in California, Washington, D.C., and New York. In 2018, Blackwell transitioned from her role as president and CEO to Founder in Residence at PolicyLink. In 2011, Blackwell was appointed to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. In 2014, Blackwell was appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. In April 2020, Blackwell was appointed to the California Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery.

Commentary

Blackwell has regularly appeared as a guest on

Moyers & Company ''Moyers & Company'' was a commentary and interview television show hosted by Bill Moyers, and broadcast via syndication on public television stations in the United States. The weekly show covered current affairs affecting everyday Americans, and ...

as a social justice expert, including in 1995, to discuss rebuilding communities, in 2004, to discuss economic and social equity, in 2012, to discuss her optimism, and in 2014, to discuss systemic racism. Blackwell has also regularly appeared on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

networks, beginning in 1994. Blackwell also appeared on '' NPR'' in 2007 to discuss a study from the

Pew Charitable Trusts The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent ...

on economic mobility, and on '' PBS NewsHour'' in 2014 to discuss progress made after fifty years of the

war on poverty The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national p ...

. In 2009 and 2010, Blackwell wrote commentary about national health policy for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. In 2017, Blackwell wrote "The Curb-Cut Effect" in ''

Stanford Social Innovation Review ''Stanford Social Innovation Review'' (''SSIR'') is a magazine and website that covers cross-sector solutions to global problems. ''SSIR'' is written by and for social change leaders from around the world and from all sectors of society—nonprofi ...

'', about how laws and programs designed for vulnerable groups often benefit everyone, followed by "Civil Society and Authentic Engagement in a Diverse Nation" in 2018. Blackwell further expounded on "the curb-cut effect" in a 2017 opinion article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. As founder in residence at PolicyLink, Blackwell has continued to provide expert commentary on economic and social justice issues, including as the keynote speaker at the 2020 "Racism and the Economy" conference series hosted by the presidents of the Atlanta, Boston, and Minneapolis Federal Reserve Banks. In 2020, Blackwell co-authored opinion articles in ''

'', ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', and ''

The Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...

''. In 2019, Blackwell began her podcast ''Radical Imagination'', which hosts experts for discussions about what Sarah Larson at ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' described as "big ideas, including reparations, housing as a human right, universal basic income, and ..police abolition."

Honors and awards

* 1994 Honorary Degree,

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

. * 2014 Richman Fellowship in Public Life,

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

. * 2017 Peter E. Haas Public Service Award,

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. * nominee, 2017 Visionary of the Year award, ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' and the School of Economics and Business Administration at St. Mary's College. * 2018 John W. Gardner Leadership Award,

Independent Sector Independent Sector is a coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporate giving programs. Founded in 1980, it is the first organization to combine the grant seekers and grantees. Located in Washington, D.C., Independent Sector largely works on f ...

Works

* Blackwell, A.G., Kwoh, S., Pastor, M. ''Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future'', New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010. . * Edited by Edwards, J., Crain, M., Kalleberg, A.L. ''Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream'', New York: The New Press, 2007. . * Smiley, Tavis (ed.). ''

The Covenant with Black America ''The Covenant with Black America'' is a 2006 political, non-fiction book edited by the American talk-show host and writer Tavis Smiley. Its theme is power relations between Black and White Americans. In 2006, the anthology was listed as The New Y ...

'', 2006 * Duncan, C.M., with a foreword by Angela Blackwell. ''Worlds Apart: Poverty and Politics in Rural America'' New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014. . * ''What It’s Worth: Strengthening the Financial Future of Families, Communities and the Nation'' (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and CFED, 2015) (contribution)

Personal life

Blackwell is married to Dr. Fred Blackwell, an orthopedic surgeon, has two children, and several grandchildren. She has lived in Oakland, California for more than four decades.

References

External links

Urban Strategies Council

PolicyLink
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, Angela Glover Living people 1940s births American civil rights activists Women civil rights activists African-American activists People from St. Louis County, Missouri Businesspeople from Oakland, California American lawyers American women lawyers African-American lawyers African-American women lawyers 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers African-American women in politics 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers