Each year, a group of us makes the intentional choice to step away from our daily responsibilities and show up together for the good of improving social challenges and conditions in California. We volunteer our time, bring our lived experiences and community concerns, and commit to engaging in a process that can often feel distant, emotionally charged, or inaccessible— civic participation.
What makes this work meaningful isn’t just the policy conversations or the setting. It’s the people.
People who carry full lives, demanding work, and personal responsibilities, yet still make space to advocate, to learn, and to stand in collective purpose to help our communities across the state.
BLC members l to r: Tiyesha Watts, Nichelle Kitt, and Tamara RaspberryAssemblymember Corey Jackson, and Al Gilbert, CEO Felton Institute and BLC Co-ChairBLC Supporter, and Carol Burton
There is something powerful about working with individuals who choose to lean in, not because they have to, but because they believe in what’s possible.
We are the Black Leadership Council.
A statewide coalition of leaders seeking reforms across four policy pillars: health, wealth, housing, and education.
BLC members l to r: Meron Agonafer, Nichelle Kitt, Dr. LaWanda Wesley, Darris Young, Tasha Henneman, BLC Director, Brett Andrews, BLC Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Chris Brown
Our fifth annual Advocacy Day, “Black in Action,” on June 17th, is just a few months away, and we are gearing up! This full day of civic engagement is designed to move community voice into meaningful policy impact.
Civic engagement, at its best, is not transactional. It is relational. It is about building trust with our elected officials, strengthening voices — our own and others — and reminding ourselves that democracy is not something that happens somewhere else, it is something we shape together.
Assemblymember Matt Haney meeting with members of the BLC
This work can be complex. It can be frustrating. It can require patience in systems that don’t always move at the pace of urgency we feel. But in those moments, it is our resilience that sustains the effort.
There is meaning in choosing to participate anyway. There is meaning in being in the room. There is meaning in doing it together.
And perhaps most importantly, there is meaning in knowing that change is not driven by a single voice, but by many, aligned in purpose, showing up again and again and again.
Help turn commitment into action by supporting the Black Leadership Council today.
To learn more about the Black leadership Council visit our website at: https://blacklc.org/ or email Tasha Henneman, Chief of Policy & Government Affairs at [email protected].
Front row: L to R: Tasha Henneman, Assemblymember Mia Bonta, Rashida Hanif, Brett Andrews, Dr LaWanda Wesley; Back row L to R: Meron Agonafer, Kapri Walker, Darris Young,
On June 19, the Black Leadership Council (BLC) returned to Sacramento for its fourth annual Juneteenth Advocacy Day—a powerful gathering of Black leaders, advocates, and allies who brought a unified voice to California’s Capitol. With Juneteenth as both backdrop and call to action, the day highlighted how far we’ve come and how much work remains to build a California where Black communities are fully seen, heard, and resourced to lead and flourish.
This year’s theme was all about intention and impact. Through legislative visits, community storytelling, and targeted policy asks, BLC members urged lawmakers to champion bold reforms across education, housing, health, and the justice system. Their message was clear: California must invest in equity, not just with words—but with budgets, legislation, and measurable outcomes.
Several legislative offices, including Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Corey Jackson, and staff from Senator Angelique Ashby, underscored conversations about the urgency of building a future rooted in racial justice and economic opportunity, and the impacts of the current Federal administration.
A glimpse into a few of our meetings unveiled the following important legislation that lawmakers are advancing this session, insights into their priorities, and specific bills where they are seeking support from advocates like the BLC to help move equity-focused policies forward.
Assemblymember Mia Bonta also shared several key pieces of legislation she’s championing that align closely with the BLC’s mission:
AB 801 would help improve access to behavioral health services for underserved populations—an urgent need within Black communities deeply impacted by systemic neglect and stigma.
AB 1230 would bolster equity in school funding, giving students of color the resources they need to succeed.
Senator Angelique Ashby staff shared the Member’s passion for bills:
SB 414, which helps improve access to early childhood education—critical for closing opportunity gaps before they widen. Just as important,
SB 761, which addresses deep inequities in women’s prisons, focusing on meaningful criminal justice reform for incarcerated women, many of whom are Black and Brown.
Assemblymember Corey Jackson reminded participants of the importance of nurturing the next generation, not just through words but through concrete investment in youth programs, education pipelines, and safety-net services. BLC members raised the issue of food insecurity, and Assemblymember Jackson affirmed that he and his colleagues are actively working to preserve critical funding for food banks at the state level, recognizing how essential these resources are for communities facing hunger every day.
The group also discussed Proposition 1, voicing strong support for ensuring the measure is implemented humanely and with accountability mechanisms. Prop 1 has the potential to change the landscape for behavioral health services and housing—but only if it’s done right.
Social Workers reunited: Assemblymember Corey Jackson and Nichelle Kitt
The day wasn’t just policy-focused—it was people-focused. BLC recognized several incredible community leaders and public servants who are championing equity behind the scenes: Marc Philpart, CEO of the California Black Freedom Fund; Melissa Jones, Executive Director of Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII); Kapri Walker, Government Affairs Manager at Californians for Justice and Safety; Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan (AD-56); and Senator Akilah Weber (SD-39). The day was also marked by a powerful keynote from Pastor Michael McBride of The Way Church in Berkeley and Live Free USA, who brought down the house with a passionate call to action rooted in faith, justice, and collective power. We were also honored to open the event in rhythm and movement, thanks to the incredible energy of dancer Afia Thompson, Director of Bahiya Movement, and drummer Kamau Mensah, whose performances grounded us in pride in our roots and ancestral strength.
The meaningful speeches, moments of affirmation, storytelling, dancing, drumming, and laughter were reminders that advocacy can be a celebration of our collective brilliance and cultural responsiveness as much as it is a battle for justice.
This year’s Advocacy Day was about honoring the past while shaping the future. With every legislative visit, policy push, and relationship built, it was abundantly clear: the movement for Black liberation in California is alive, organized, and unstoppable.
Want to see the energy for yourself? Watch the video recap and stay connected.
This May, during Mental Health Awareness Month, the Black Leadership Council (BLC) showed up not just in voice, but in action.
As part of the Reparations | Power | Healing Summit—coordinated by the Brotherhood of Elders Network, San Francisco Foundation (SFF), and East Bay Community Foundation—we hosted a volunteer activation at PRC’s Odyssey House. Alongside volunteers from Chevron’s Bay Area Black Employee Network and our partners at SFF, we spent the day revitalizing this historic recovery program that provides permanent housing to Black adults who were formerly incarcerated and/or unhoused.
Together, we cleared the garden and planted flowers, painted the kitchen and dining room, and reorganized a shared space that also serves as a private counseling room. Each stroke of the brush and every pulled weed felt deeply symbolic—like laying another brick in the foundation of someone’s recovery. Our efforts served as a quiet but powerful declaration: that beautiful, safe environments matter in the healing process, especially for those navigating mental illness and substance use disorder.
PRC’s Healing Spaces Initiative is grounded in this belief. And while the BLC’s core work is rooted in policy and advocacy, this day of service reminded us that real advocacy also lives in everyday acts of care. It doesn’t only happen in hearing rooms or legislative chambers—it happens when we show up for one another with our hands, our hearts, and our time.
Community care is policy in practice.
This collective act of beautification wasn’t just about restoring a building. It was about honoring the people who live there, creating space for healing, and deepening our shared commitment to justice, from the soil to the system.
The Black Leadership Council is gearing up for its Juneteenth Advocacy Day, which will include morning legislative visits at the State Capitol and an afternoon awards luncheon honoring leaders from across California who have championed equity policy or initiatives. Learn more about the work of the BLC and/or support their Advocacy Day.
As a volunteer, your help will directly impact the daily experience of our clients, creating a space that fosters dignity, comfort, and hope.
Please RSVP for each person who plans to attend so we can ensure we have enough supplies, tools, and refreshments available.
We can’t wait to see you there and make a difference together!
If you would like additional information, including how to sponsor an event or to plan a dedicated volunteer day for your team, please contact Development Communications Manager Seth Abrahamson at [email protected].
415-777-0333 
