Overview: Following significant midterm victories that handed Democrats control of Capitol Hill, the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. is issuing a clear mandate: Black votes must yield tangible legislative returns. NBCUSA President Rev. Boise Kimber unveiled the Working-Class Black Agenda, mobilizing 31,000 congregations to operate as an aggressive watchdog demanding federal protections against gerrymandering, equitable home appraisals, business capital, and expanded healthcare access.
After Democrats’ midterm victories, a major Black Baptist denomination demands action on voting rights, economic opportunity and healthcare.
The Rev. Boise Kimber says Black voters should no longer be taken for granted. His denomination is mobilizing its extensive church network to press the new Democratic Congress for action on economic justice, voting rights and healthcare. Credit: National Baptist Convention, Inc./YouTube
The Rev. Boise Kimber has a message for Democrats after the blue tsunami swept them to power in Congress: If you want Black voters to keep showing up for you, show them what you’ll deliver in Washington.
For Kimber, president of National Baptist Convention USA Inc., that means passing legislation that will protect Black interests — including fair appraisals when Black families sell their homes, access to capital for Black entrepreneurs and federal protection when lawmakers gerrymander districts to dismantle Black political power.
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“Blacks will no longer be taken for granted,” Kimber said in the convention’s announcement. He said Democrats “have to work as hard for our vote as they do for any other constituency.”
Kimber laid out those demands in a new policy framework, the “Working-Class Black Agenda.” It urges Congress to act on priorities for Black America, ranging from student debt relief to a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote.
Democrats won control of the House and the Senate on Nov. 3 in a resounding repudiation of President Donald Trump, the GOP, and policy decisions that have negatively affected people’s lives and pocketbooks. While the shift signals a new era of power for Democrats, it will also set up a new set of conflicts between Congress and Trump, who still holds veto power.
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