By Black Star News Staff
New York, NY — World Leaders, Elected Officials, Business Leaders, Celebrities, and Changemakers are set to join the Global Black Economic Forum Business Summit and Public Convention at the 2024 ESSENCE Festival of Culture™ to collaborate, innovate, and strategize solutions to combat attacks against progress and equity.
From July 5 to July 7, the Global Black Economic Forum will outline the future of health, wealth, work, and democracy for Black communities around the globe through three days of dynamic programming. With democracy facing unprecedented challenges and a record number of elections taking place worldwide this year, these conversations are more critical than ever. Joining the Global Black Economic Forum in New Orleans will include elected, governmental, business and public policy leaders, entrepreneurs, investor, founders and philanthropists who will offer insights and perspectives and solutions to some of most complex economic and political issues confronting marginalized communities worldwide.
“As we experience deep chasms culturally and politically in the United States and globally, it is crucial that we mobilize and engage in conversations that drive solutions to some of the vexing problems we face,” said President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum Alphonso David. “This year as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ESSENCE Festival of Culture, we will also double down on our commitment to empowerment and mobilization as we ensure our communities are activated for the challenges ahead.”
On July 5th, the Global Black Economic Forum will host programming at our annual Global Business Summit and Public Convention.
At the Global Business Summit, we will welcome leaders including:
· Francia Marquez, Vice President of Colombia
· Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic Leader and Representative of New York’s 8th Congressional District
· Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, Representative of Texas’s 30th Congressional District
· Rex Richardson, Mayor of Long Beach, California
· Robert Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners
· Richelieu Dennis, Founder and Chairman of Sundial Group of Companies, including ESSENCE Ventures
· Thasunda Brown Duckett, President and CEO of TIAA
· Daniel O’Day, CEO of Gilead Sciences
· Rashida Jones, President of MSNBC
· Arian Simone, CEO of the Fearless Fund
· Isabel Casillas Guzman, Administrator for the United States Small Business Administration
· Emma Theofelus, Minister of Information, Communication & Technology for Namibia and the youngest woman serving as a government minister across the African continent
· And many more
At the Global Black Economic Forum’s Public Convention (also referred to as GBEF HQ), we are welcoming leaders including:
· Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Representative of California’s 43rd Congressional District
· Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
· Acting Under Secretary Eric Morrisette, U.S. Department of Commerce
· Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder & President of the National Action Network
· Melanie Campbell, President & CEO National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable
· Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League
· Derrick Johnson, President & CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
· Rev. Shavon Arline-Bradley, President & CEO of the National Coalition of Negro Women (NCNW)
· Ron Busby, Sr., President & CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers
· Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills Running Back
· Kimberlé Crenshaw, civil rights advocate and professor at the UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School
· And many more
We will close the first evening by hosting the 2nd Annual Queer Space: A celebration of the beauty and diversity of our Black Queer community.
On July 6, the Global Black Economic Forum will welcome leaders to the Public Convention Stage including:
· Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
· Francia Márquez, Vice President of Colombia
· Congressman Steven Horsford, Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and Representative of Nevada’s 4th Congressional District
· Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Representative of California’s 43rd Congressional District
· Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and Representative of Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District
· Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, Representative of Delaware’s At-Large Congressional District
· Congressman Troy Carter, Representative of Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District
· Dr. Epsy Campbell Barr, President of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and former Vice President of Costa Rica
· Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP LDF
· Don Lemon, Television Journalist and Author
· Kendrick Sampson, Actor and Activist
· Nikole Hannah Jones, Creator of The 1619 Project and Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University
· La June Montgomery Tabron, CEO of the W.F. Kellogg Foundation
· Arian Simone, CEO of the Fearless Fund
· Reyna Roberts, “Princess of Outlaw Country”: Singer-Songwriter and Pianist
· Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Activist and Co-Founder of Campaign Zero
· Flau’jae Johnson, Women’s Basketball National Champion and Rapper
· And many more
The Global Black Economic Forum will also hold a closed-door Chief DEI Officer convening that welcomes leaders in diversity, equity, and inclusion from the world’s largest organizations to discuss what’s next and what we can do.
On July 7, the Global Black Economic Forum will welcome leaders to the Public Convention Stage including
· Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Representative of Massachusetts’s 7th Congressional District
· Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, Representative of Texas’s 30th Congressional District
· Stacey Abrams, Politician, Lawyer, Voting Rights Activist and Author
· Joy Reid, Journalist, Television Host and National Correspondent for MSNBC
· Dr. Sesha Joi Moon, PhD, Chief Diversity Officer, U.S. House of Representatives, 117th & 118th Congresses and Chief Strategist, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett [TX-30]
· Judge Glenda Hatchett, Lawyer, Judge and Television Personality
· Damon Hewitt, Executive Director of Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
· Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League
· Rashad Robinson, President of Color of Change
· Nicole Austin-Hillery, President & CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
· Juan Proano, President of LULAC
· Dr. Yolanda Lawson, MD, President of the National Medical Association
· DeDe McGuire, Nationally Syndicated Radio Host and Philanthropist
· Dr. Aletha Maybank, Chief Health Equity Officer, SVP at American Medical Association
· Live Recording of the Native Land Podcast with:
oAngela Rye, Lawyer and CEO of Impact Strategies
oTiffany Cross, Television Personality, Political Analyst and Author
oAndrew Gillum, Commentator and Former Elected Official
· And many more
A special thank you to the following partners, sponsors, and supporters whose collaboration makes the Global Black Economic Forum’s activations possible each year at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture™.
· Gilead Sciences, Inc.
· W.K. Kellogg Foundation
· Eli Lilly
· SisterSong
· Entergy
· Amazon Web Services
· Merck
· When We All Vote
· Diageo
· US News & World Report
· McDonalds
· L’Oreal
· Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
· U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
· Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
· Native Land Podcast
· MVD, Inc.
· Louisiana Economic Development Fund (LED)
Tickets for the 2024 Essence Festival of Culture™ are available to be purchased at https://www.essence.com/festival2024-v2/
You can download the E360 App for the latest schedule of what’s happening at the 2024 Essence Festival of Culture™ at https://www.essence.com/downloadapp/
About The Global Black Economic Forum
The Global Black Economic Forum is an international enterprise focused on advancing the economic interests of the Black Diaspora and other marginalized groups through global summits, workplace training and leadership development, policy advocacy and litigation, and thought leadership. A sister company of ESSENCE, the Global Black Economic Forum is one of the most anticipated stages at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture, the largest gathering of Black people in the United States, garnering nearly 3 million digital views on the event weekend alone and holding 7 of the top 10 most viewed programming from over 20 unique festival experiences.
