The Rolling Sea Action Fund will raise money as well as invest in different advertising and campaigns in the upcoming election cycle. The Democrats currently hold 212 seats in Congress, meaning they’d need to flip a minimum of five seats to become the majority party in 2024. 

The CBC’s former Political Director Niccara Campbell-Wallace is the executive director of the new fund. Campbell-Wallace told The Hill that one of the main goals of the fund will be to recognize that Black voters are the “backbone” of the Democratic party.

“When Black voters turn out, they turn out, and they fight for democracy,” Campbell-Wallace said. “This organization shares the mission and goals of the CBC PAC, which is focused on recruitment. This will be an avenue to really, really target folks in battlefield districts that are crucial for us to take back the House in 2024.”

The Rolling Sea Action Fund will target districts that have around 8 percent or more of a Black voting age population. The goal is to invest eight figures into mobilization efforts and campaigns, Campbell-Wallace said. 

But the fund will also focus on year-round political investment in Black communities, something many activists have said doesn’t happen. 

Though Black voters consistently cast their ballots for Democrats in higher numbers than any other racial group, Democrats have faced criticism from activists who accuse politicians of avoiding Black voting areas until little more than a week before election day. 

Campbell-Wallace told The Hill that the new super PAC will be “intentional and authentic” with their messaging to Black voters.

The Rolling Sea Action Fund comes after the 2022 midterms saw a record number of Black candidates run and win their elections. At the federal level, the CBC welcomed its largest cohort ever with 58 members. 

Congress also saw Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) make history last year as the first Black lawmaker to lead a congressional party. His rise to head the House Democrats nearly saw the nation’s first Black Speaker, with all 212 Democrats nominating Jeffries in January. But with the Republican majority, those hopes were squashed when Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took the Speakership.

“Representation does matter, you have to see yourself in order to be what you see,” Campbell-Wallace said. “Having all these voices at the table with different thoughts, different types of Black people – because we know Black people are not a monolith – really lends itself to that.”

Though the fund will focus mainly on federal elections, it does plan to partner with grassroots organizations as well. One of the groups of voters they’ll be focused on is Black men. 

The Democratic party has been struggling with Black men in recent years. The 2020 election saw Black men’s support for Democrats drop to its lowest point in history. 

Though 80 percent of Black men supported Joe Biden in 2020, compared to 82 percent for Hillary Clinton in 2016, the level of support has not reached the 95 percent of support Barack Obama won in 2008, according to an NBC poll.

But having voices like Jeffries, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), chair of the CBC, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), CBC PAC chair, is important to showing Black men that the CBC is listening to their concerns. 

“We understand that there needs to be a direct effort targeting Black men and speaking to them in the way that they feel they’re understood and heard,” Campbell-Wallace said. “Having strong Black men and strong Black voices to really advocate for them is so essential. I come from a line of strong Black men, and so I love Black men and this is a sort of love letter to them.”

This story was updated at 10:52 a.m.

The Executive Leadership Council (ELC), a global organization of more than 800 global Black executives, told American CEOs that the Supreme Court’s decision should not affect their efforts to implement DEI practices. 

“From your employees, to your supply chain and the customers and communities you impact, it is critical that you continue to use DEI as it was intended, as a mechanism for creating an inclusive culture,” the ELC said. “Initiatives can include providing economic opportunity by expanding your recruiting efforts, connecting all leaders to your culture through employee resource groups, and providing interview training to reduce biases. In doing so, you can serve and contribute to the success of your organization.”

Though it is illegal for corporations to make any hiring and firing decisions based on race, advocates have expressed concern that the court’s ruling to ban race-conscious admissions in higher education could negatively impact DEI programs in the workforce. 

Even before the Supreme Court’s ruling, DEI initiatives have come under fire in many Republican-led states. This year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also campaigning for president, signed a bill into law banning his state's public colleges and universities from allocating money on DEI programs.

Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott followed DeSantis’s lead soon after, signing a bill banning DEI offices at public colleges and universities. The bill also banned mandatory diversity training for students and employees.

In all, 22 states this year have introduced anti-DEI legislation, though not all have passed, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Meanwhile, one provision in the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act eliminates DEI programs and staff in the Defense Department. 

But the ELC is urging business leaders to continue diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“While the recent SCOTUS ruling overturned affirmative action in higher education, it does not impede you from continuing to exert successful practices that serve and advance your efforts today,” the group wrote.

“The common thread that we can all build on is that we are all Americans who want to create the best future for our country,” the letter continues. “The research clearly shows that when we establish more inclusive and diverse environments, our corporate structures and communities thrive and are more economically sound.”

Inclusive companies are more likely to hit financial targets by up to 120 percent, according to Forbes. Companies can also reach a more diverse audience with a more diverse workforce, and studies also show that diverse organizations innovate at a faster rate.

“We must seek to abolish these negative narratives that are intended to set us back and instead embrace the diversity of our country so that everyone wins,” ELC said. “Now is not the time to retreat, but to boldly stand as we advance equitable opportunities for all and continue to build a strong and flourishing economy.”

While some are warning Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students will face additional challenges in applying to elite institutions, others are celebrating the end of what they say were discriminatory practices.

The Supreme Court’s rulings last month against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, backed by six conservative justices, are expected to dramatically change how college admissions work, effectively ending race-conscious considerations.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) expressed discomfort with how the cases essentially pitted different Americans of color against one another, with advocates for ending race-conscious admissions arguing the policies benefited Black, Latino and Native Americans at the expense of Asian Americans.  

Chu said she was “deeply distressed” by the court’s decision, noting Asian Americans are not a monolithic group, and the decision would hurt certain Asian Americans and other minority Americans “systematically denied equal opportunity in education.”  

“As a community college professor for 20 years, I know that students learn best when they encounter diversity in the classroom,” Chu, chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, told The Hill. 

Chu added it was “extremely upsetting” that Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) founder Ed Blum “shopped around” for Asian Pacific Islanders after his previous attempt to overturn affirmative action using white women failed. In 2015, Blum told a group gathered by the Houston Chinese Alliance that he needed “Asian plaintiffs.” 

"He used AAPIs as the victims in his subsequent lawsuit,” Chu said, pointing out he did not name an Asian American or Pacific Islander plaintiff in the case or put such a student on the stand.

Still, polls suggest Asian Americans have varied views about affirmative action.  

A June poll conducted by Pew Research Center found that 53 percent of Asian American adults who had heard of affirmative action said the policy was a good thing; 19 percent said it was a bad thing.  

Seventy-six percent, however, said race or ethnicity should not factor into college admissions decisions.

More on the affirmative action ruling

• What will colleges do in wake of the affirmative action ruling?
• Attention turns to legacy admissions
• Supreme Court hands down blow to college affirmative action

Proponents of affirmative action argue it helps to create a diverse campus environment, or that the policy helps ensure disadvantaged students have access to elite instructions like Harvard. 

“I especially am cognizant of the fact that there are AAPI's that can definitely benefit from affirmative action because we know that if you look at the great diversity amongst us, that Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders are very much disadvantaged in terms of being able to get a college degree,” said Chu.

For Thang Diep, a 2019 graduate of Harvard, affirmative action meant his background as a Vietnamese immigrant — which prevented him from accessing certain resources — was considered.

“In my [college application] essay, I wrote about learning English and being an immigrant and navigating this new strange world,” Diep told The Hill. “But in high school, I didn’t have the necessary private college counselors. I had to look up resources online about college applications and how to write my personal statements.”

After graduating from Harvard, Diep learned many Southeast Asian American students struggled with the same challenges he faced. Affirmative action, he said, helped schools take these challenges into consideration when looking at applicants.

In the comments from his application, Diep was praised for characteristics including his modesty, his personal standards and his friendliness — even as the application noted his SAT score fell “on the lower end of the Harvard average.”

Harvard’s application system places emphasis on “personal” scores meant to gauge qualities such as maturity, leadership and kindness. 

This, the SFFA argued in its case, is why Asian Americans were admitted in much lower numbers: Asian American applicants had high test scores, but stereotypes that label Asian Americans as emotionless or robotic counted against them. Removing these “soft” criteria to focus only on merit would end that discrimination.

Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) wrote in an op-ed for The Hill that the Supreme Court case was about empowering Americans of all backgrounds. 

“Telling students that their race matters more than their merit is a dangerous message that encourages racial discrimination,” Kim wrote. “These out-of-touch policies keep the American dream out of reach for hardworking Americans, including many in the AAPI community.” 

She added that she is a proud Korean American whose story reflects that of many other immigrants. But, she said, she did not get where she is because of her race.

“I am here because I worked my butt off to achieve the American dream and am fighting every day to keep that dream alive for future generations,” Kim said. “College boards determining whose family story they deem more appealing than another is not reflective of the country that welcomed my family and me.”

Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) issued a statement lauding the court’s decision as a “new chapter in the fight for equality in education.”

“I immigrated to this country from Korea when I was 19 years old to pursue an education,” said Steel. “I am living my American Dream because, in this country, your actions determine your success — not your race and ethnicity.” 

“For 40 years, American colleges and universities have stacked the deck against Asian Americans in the name of diversity,” Steel continued. “As a nation, we believe, as taught by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that every human should be judged "not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.’” 

But Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said the court’s ruling “willfully ignores” the way race has historically played a part in American society.

“Rather than achieving what they conceive that somehow they were establishing some sort of colorblind justice, they’re willfully ignoring the way race consciousness has been a part of American history since before the Republic was founded,” Takano, who graduated from Harvard in 1983, told The Hill. 

“They used Asian Americans as a tool, as a fig leaf, for this and I did not appreciate being used that way as an Asian American,” Takano added.

In filings, the SFFA specifically called out Black and Latino students, stating Harvard engaged in unlawful “racial balancing” by holding Asian American applicants to higher standards than Black and Latino students.

Diep said he does not believe other nonwhite students have taken spots away from any Asian American student. 

“I think it's very strategic for … Edward Blum and his organization to use Asian Americans, specifically using Asian Americans who fit into the model minority myth, or the stereotype that Asian Americans get good grades, and use them as a wedge to divide our communities of color,” he said.

“I think it's very strategic that they don't highlight the Southeast Asian experience, that Southeast Asians don't have access to these resources,” Diep added. “I think it's very strategic to highlight only a subset of Asian Americans to then pit against other communities of color.”

Affirmative action opponents say the practice places Asian American applicants at a disadvantage because it requires them to score extremely high on tests.

In 2009, a study by Princeton University reported that those who identify as Asian had to score 140 points higher on the SAT than white students and 450 points higher than Black students to have the same chance of admission to private colleges.

But in a 2021 report by Georgetown University’s Center on Higher Education and the Workforce, Asian Americans accounted for 65 percent of students who scored 1300 or above on the SAT and applied to one of the most selective colleges in the country. Twelve percent of Asian American students who scored below 1300 on their SAT still applied to one of the most selective colleges, compared to only 5 percent of non-Asian American students. 

The results, according to the report, indicate that because of the rate in which Asian American students apply to selective colleges they are more likely to be denied admission at higher rates, too, which is not indicative of bias on the schools’ part.

The report also found that if schools revert to a test scores-only admissions system, 21 percent of Asian American students would lose their admissions to the nation’s most selective colleges to students with higher test scores — compared to 39 percent of non-Asian American students.

“We see newer immigrant groups, certain segments of the AAPI community, who come from countries that may be attuned to the idea that admissions tests or tests associated with admissions somehow are connected to merit,” Takano said. “You'll see in South Korea, Japan, China have very test-centric admissions processes. Holistic admissions is just not part of how admissions is determined in many of these countries of national origin and there is that sort of bias. A lot of investment goes into test preparation.”

Critics of the Supreme Court’s ruling argue that ending affirmative action will make college campuses less racially diverse.  

In an amicus brief filed last year, California acknowledged that the effects of ending race-conscious admissions saw a drastic decline in minority student admissions. 

The state — which ended race-conscious admissions in public schools, governmental bodies and public systems after voters approved Proposition 209 in 1996 — reported in 2021 the University of California, Berkeley’s freshman class included only 258 Black students and 27 Native American students out of a class of 6,931. 

The brief also emphasized enrollment in the entire UC system declined has among minority students, and Black, Latino and Native American students “widely report struggling with feelings of racial isolation.”

Chu told The Hill she is “very concerned” these trends will expand across the nation now. 

“I want to make sure that we have rigorous oversight of the federal agencies that combat discrimination in education,” Chu said. “We have to give guidance to all these institutions on how they can promote diversity in higher education. I also am pledging along with our Tri-Caucus partners, to persist in securing federal funding for the minority-serving institutions, including Asian American Minority Serving Institutions. We must continue to do outreach to communities of color.”

Trayvon Martin was only 17 years old when he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. His death, and the subsequent acquittal of Zimmerman, sparked nationwide protests – and the birth of a movement we know today as Black Lives Matter.

It’s been 10 years since the Black Lives Matter movement was created by organizers Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. 

Since then, the list of Black and brown Americans who have been killed at the hands of police has grown.

On this episode, we reflect on the last 10 years of work to spread the message that Black Lives Matter. What’s been done so far — and where do we have left to go?

Listen above.

The Switch Up podcast series — hosted by The Hill's Cheyanne M. Daniels — explores the intersection of race and politics through intimate conversations with leading scholars, advocates and legislators from communities of color.

The Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday found 61 percent of Americans believe racial and ethnic discrimination is a “big problem,” while 52 percent say issues around race relations are a major reason behind the current political divide. Among people of color, 76 percent say discrimination is a big problem, compared to only 52 percent of non-Hispanic whites. 

Among whites, these numbers vary drastically based on political party identification. Though 72 percent of white Democrats say race is a major issue for divisions, only 51 percent of white Republicans agree. 

The numbers followed a spike in 2020 — after the murder of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer — when 76 percent of Americans said racial discrimination was a big problem. 

Political divisions in America have been growing for some time, and the 2016 and 2020 elections highlighted the divisions. Candidates and political leaders across the aisle have accused the other party of leading the country toward facism, while advocates have repeatedly said the election cycles have become “life or death.”

Still, Monmouth’s poll showed that 52 percent of Americans remain somewhat optimistic about the future of race relations, though people of color are less likely than whites to express this hope. 

Fifty-eight percent of people of color want to see racial diversity and inclusion given more attention, including in schools. 

Curriculum around race and racism has become a particularly hot topic in the last few years as some politicians seek to limit how these topics can be taught in schools. 

At least 26 states have banned books for pushing what conservatives argue is critical race theory, a legal framework taught in colleges that explores how racism is embedded in most American institutions. 

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who announced a 20242 White House bid last month — recently signed legislation prohibiting schools from spending public funding on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, or what his office called “discriminatory initiatives.”

Almost half of white respondents in the Monmouth survey said racial diversity and inclusion needs to be given less attention, with 50 percent supportive of limiting how racial inequity is taught in schools.  

The poll was conducted by telephone from May 18-23, with 981 adults in the United States.  The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points for the full sample.

Black Americans have been vital in the fight for civil rights, and not just when it comes to race.

Numerous Black queer activists have fought for decades to secure equal rights for the LGBTQ community, yet their names are often left out of history books. This year, they’ve begun to receive more attention — particularly after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis argued queer history and Black history had no connection.

But many argue the contributions of Black queer activists have been vital in the fight for equality over the years.  

Listen above.

The Switch Up podcast series — hosted by The Hill's Cheyanne Daniels — explores the intersection of race and politics through intimate conversations with leading scholars, advocates and legislators from communities of color.