Introducing…The Two Fifths Institute
This week, in 1787, the first Articles of Confederation were introduced during the United States Constitutional Convention to determine the slave states population, electoral votes and tax structure as it pertains to black people. Of course, it was written into law that “free blacks” ONLY counted as three-fifths of a person was The Constitution was ratified in 1788.
Today, 234 years later, as the world watched in awe, in agony and in anticipation of the verdict of George Floyd’s killer, The Two Fifths Institute is being created as an Economic and Intellectual Think Tank, powered by Black Millennials (and the allies that support us).
We aim to diagnose Black America’s most pressing social ills by turning concise, scientific, evidence based solutions into policy changing mandates.
The anti-intellectualism of black and brown scholars has gone too far.
There are some incredible organizations like Demos, The Miami Foundation, Just Democracy, The GBPI, Colorlines, Afrotech, that are doing notable work in this space…
There are some marvelous mavens like Sherrell Dorsey, Morgan DeBaun, Felicia Hatcher, Kilan Ashad-Bishop that are the mental and phyiscal embodiment of #MelaninMagic.
There are several HBCU’s that exist in this space. Every. Single. Day.
Their voices are not a audible enough for the rest of America to hear those cries, those demands, those hopes, those actionable items…
But there’s a meteoric sized hole in the marketplace for a central hub, a go-to meeting space, both digital and commercial, to house all the immense talent working to stem the tide of diversity and inclusion.
And sleeping giants, namely, large companies mostly driven by rich, white men have awakened in some respects. Even my former employer Morgan Stanley has taken action.
VC Report: Focus on Race and Inequality | Morgan Stanley
Listen to Wes Moore, CEO of The Robin Hood Foundation explain why its important for Wall Street to participate in the struggle for to close the racial wealth gap in Corporate America.
Our mission is to finish the work of our forefathers through the duality of reform and research; to bridge the divergent worlds of multicultural research, contemporary academia, economic justice and public policy; and to arrive at the conclusion of those results seen through the lens of the African-American community.
We are not your father’s Think Tank.
We won’t have an address in D.C. We’re headquartered in Miami.
We won’t be beholden to lobbyists. Not one bit.
Please join us on our journey to collectively amass the brightest minds from both the public and private sector, in a non partisan way, to color in the circumference of the original compromise.
The hard work is being done…
It’s time to do the smart work…
We are just getting started… #BlackScholarsMatter
Advocacy. Academia. Altruism.
