EFOC: Women Leaders Take Center Stage At The Global Black Economic Forum Summit At ESSENCE Fest

ESSENCE Festival of Culture was host to the Global Black Economic Forum Summit to gather world leaders, business executives, and community advocates to discuss strategies for advancing wealth and equality for Black people across the Diaspora.

Alphonso David, GBEF President & CEO, opened the summit with remarks asking attendees to consider their responsibility in fighting for progress.

“When I went to law school, I remember reading the Dred Scott decision that said that I was not a person under the law,” David stated. “I remember reading Plessy vs. Ferguson that said separate but equal is legal. Those decisions obviously changed, but now we’re going backwards. So what’s our responsibility to make sure that we turn the tide? That is our purpose here today. That is your role here today, to help us achieve that goal.”

David’s introductory remarks led into a panel with Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman president of any African country, and United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to start today to start this conversation than with two titans, two women who have broken every barrier,” David said, highlighting Sirleaf’s role as a peacemaker. “She turned the tide at a time when the country was in deep descent. And for her work, she has been recognized by the President of the United States with a merit award and she received the Nobel Peace Prize,” he noted.

Introducing Greenfield, David noted that “[s]he’s using her office to make sure that we realize the true purpose of the continent of Africa, the true purpose of the United States, the true purpose of diplomacy, in achieving equity and equality for all of us.”

When asked about their dream for women, Sirleaf asserted, “If I may put it bluntly, I wish women ruled the world,” to cheers from the audience.

Greenfield added, “If we ruled the world, my dream wouldn’t be necessary. And my dream is that women have full and equal participation in whatever we do. That they get equal pay. They get equal access to job opportunities. Equal possibilities to be in leadership roles.”

During the panel, David announced that GBEF and ESSENCE Ventures would be donating $300,000 over a three-year period to support the Ellen Sirleaf Johnson Foundation, which focuses on building women leaders in Africa.

Panels on philanthropy, health care, and banking failures, among others followed. Before VP Harris began her fireside chat, the GBEF summit also gathered panelists in a discussion on inequity on corporate boards.

Panelist and renowned business leader Debra Lee spoke about the potential for Black people to generate wealth by serving on a board, and she recalled how she felt after the killing of George Floyd.

“I saw that policeman have his knee on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and treat him like he wasn’t even human,” she began, “[a]nd it was so depressing, that I thought the only way we’re ever going to solve this problem is to create more Black wealth.”

Lee, the former Chairperson and CEO of BET Networks, has since founded Monarchs Collective “to change the complexion of board rooms and leadership ranks.”

Michelle Campbell, the CEO of Diverse Talent, an executive search and placement firm, asserted, “the conversations have been had. And now it’s about gaining access to the opportunities that are there.”

Headlining the summit was Vice President Kamala Harris, who shifted her remarks to address the Supreme Court’s decision that morning to strike down Affirmative Action on the basis of race.

“I prepared to have a very long conversation with you about many other matters,” the Vice President shared.  “And then the highest court in our land just made a decision today on Affirmative Action.”

“This is now a moment where the court has not fully understand the importance of equal opportunity for the people of our country,” she noted.

Vice President Harris also discussed her recent work to increase investment in Africa. “I just came back from the continent,” she shared in the fireside chat. “It is, as one of my goals as Vice President to redirect [and] reorder, the relationship between the United States and the continent of Africa,” she stated before discussing her interactions with young entrepreneurs and growing their digital inclusion.

“When you lift up the economic status of women, you lift up the economic status of families in the home,” she added.

The one-day summit on June 29 jumpstarted a series of conversations over ESSENCE Fest weekend at the GBEF HQ stage at the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Conversations ranged from addressing wealth building and retirement planning to the “war on woke” with guests that included Wyclef Jean, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, and Black mayors across the country.