As we learn more about the experiences of Black people in our country, it’s clear that things need to change in order to advance racial equity. Effective CEOs need to lead and address social injustices in a consequential way — not just in our workplaces, but in society. We officially launched CEO Action for Racial Equity on October 1, 2020 after realizing the need for a business-led initiative driving racial equity in the public policy arena. The Fellowship’s vision is to improve the quality of life for the 47M+ Black Americans in our country through advocacy and advancement of solutions that seek to end systemic racism. While CEOARE initially launched with a two-year commitment, in our first year alone we built a meaningful platform for policy change and corporate engagement. CEOARE received overwhelming feedback from our signatory organizations, CEOs, Fellows and community stakeholders that there remains much work to be done. We are thrilled to continue this work for an additional two years, through October 2024, beyond our initial commitment.

The Fellowship is the largest business-led initiative aimed at advancing racial equity through public policy. It brings together more than 100 companies across the business community — across industries and regions — to enact change. Its strength comes from the powerful network and reach of organizations who are not just observing change, they are committed to be a part of it, together. An important part of this is our Fellows — the diverse talent that CEOs have lent from their respective organizations who come with a strong passion and purpose to achieve our mission.

Organized into teams that align with their expertise and interests, Fellows researched hundreds of potential policy solutions. Their work was guided by data-driven insights on racial inequities and by the expertise of our Black Community Council, which consists of leading community organizations at the forefront of addressing deeply rooted disparities. The Fellows explored where CEO Action for Racial Equity can amplify the collective voice of our 100+ organizations to influence the policy landscape and drive lasting change.

In early 2021, we determined eight key issues where CEO Action for Racial Equity is dedicated to advancing and amplifying new and existing local, state and federal public policies.

In addition, we launched a place-based approach that acknowledges the strengths, assets and leadership in communities. Currently in Oakland, California, Birmingham, Alabama and Detroit, Michigan, we’ll work to understand local needs and how we can support the implementation of the policy solutions related to the eight issues on our agenda. We will begin work in Baltimore, Maryland and Dallas, Texas in the near future. Cities were selected based on quantitative and qualitative analysis, including the current racial equity ecosystem. In 2022, we introduced a state strategy to deepen our impact in four states where we can further harness the network of our signatories and amplify our collective voice on critical issues facing Black Americans: Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Texas.

In our first year alone, our Fellows engaged 240+ policymakers, organizations, strategic collaborators and community leaders to raise awareness and amplify our mission. Together, we advocated for legislative and policy-driven solutions to address our country’s most challenging racial disparities, including food equity, early childhood education and the digital divide. As a result, CEOARE has built a reputation for being a methodical, data-driven thought leader with an established platform to put corporate values into action and affect real change on critical issues facing our nation.

Our Fellows are drawing on both their professional experiences and personal backgrounds to advance racial equity through public policy. From data specialists to lawyers to human resources professionals to government relations, the diverse backgrounds, skillsets and perspectives of our Fellows — paired with the support from their home organizations — puts our Fellowship in a unique position to carry out this mission. We use our collective resources to help bridge gaps, collaborate and facilitate change at multiple levels of policy from the local, state and federal level.

While CEOs, not-for-profit and university leaders are working to create more inclusive workplaces through CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, the CEO Action for Racial Equity Fellows focus on advancing public policy to address racial disparities in the Black community. They are focused on four key areas of our societal well-being: economic empowerment, education, healthcare and public safety. To drive sustainable and systemic change, our Fellows work closely with community organizations, subject matter specialists, NGOs, public and private foundations and policy makers at the local, state and federal level.