AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM

Discourse, Design & Innovation: One of the biggest achievements of the work that has come out of the discourse, design, and innovation workstream was the launch and kickoff of Northside Forward, a comprehensive community development plan. It is what it looks like when development is not extraction, but restoration. In the heart of Minneapolis's Black community, The Forum convened over 150 Northside residents, elders, youth, visionaries, and builders to dream together and design what's next. The result: architectural renderings that reflect not just buildings, but belonging These are spaces imaged to hold joy, commerce, healing, and cultural pride. With aligned investment and policy partners now at the talbe, we are laying the foundation for a radically different model; one where Black communities shape the blueprint, own the assets, and define prosperity on their own terms.

Research & Policy: In policy and research a major achievement was launching and having a full slate of the Policy Entrepreneur fellowship role on staff. This position cultivates the next generation of Black policy visionaries, leaders who speak from lived experience and move with strategy, precision, and boldness. These fellows were at the center of some of The Forum's most catalytic work: co-authoring publications now informing state proposals, leading testimony that challenged entrenched narratives, and shaping forums that birthed real-time legislative models. More than policy training, this fellowship is about shifting power, placing Black brilliance at the helm of systems redesign. It's how we ensure that public policy is not just about us, but authored by us.