By Lauren Burke
NNPA News
Organizers of the inaugural “State of the People POWER Tour” launched events around the U.S. starting last Saturday.
The tour seeks to amplify Black voices across the country. The nationwide tour will be anchored by a diverse coalition of community leaders, civil rights activists, entrepreneurs, influencers, and policy chiefs.
The effort is to visit Black communities in 10 states, beginning with the two-day series of events held in Atlanta on April 26.
Leaders and participants of the nationwide effort include Angela Rye, President and CEO of IMPACT Strategies; Joy Reid, journalist; Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP; La-Tosha Brown, Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter; Pastor Mike McBride, activist Tamika Mallory, Executive Director of Live Free USA and activist and strategist Gary Chambers, Jr. among many others.
Different leaders and activists will be highlighted from city to city. The effort is designed to spotlight local leadership, elevate community-driven solutions, and help shape a national Black agenda ahead of Juneteenth 2025.
Organizers say the initiative is rooted in deep listening, movement building, and networking among those most impacted by systemic inequity.
From the first 48 hours of his second term in the White House, President Donald Trump has been focused on policy to dismantling diversity and inclusion.
Additionally, his administration has made several anti-Black moves, including the removal and defunding of Black historical figures and sites, ad an ongoing assertion that inclusive policy means a lack of qualifications. “Atlanta, widely known as the ‘Black Mecca,’ is the perfect starting point for this journey,” a press release on April 23 said.
“Its historic legacy of civil rights leadership and cultural excellence embodies the spirit of this movement — one grounded in vision, strategy, and collective power.”
Following its kickoff in Georgia, the tour will make stops in North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Jersey, Virginia, Michigan, California, and Kentucky, culminating in a Juneteenth General Assembly at a location yet to be announced.
Throughout the tour, organizers will release policy reports addressing key issues impacting Black communities, including economic justice, education equity, health care access, criminal justice reform, environmental justice, and voting rights.
Each stop will feature local convenings, strategic workshops, and collaborative planning sessions, all aimed at strengthening the infrastructure of Black-led change.
With the 2026 midterms on the horizon and a national reckoning around equity still unfolding, the “State of the People POWER Tour” signals a new chapter in community-centered movement building.
“This is more than a tour — it’s an organizing strategy, a policy lab, and a call to action,” said one coalition leader. “We’re building power that lasts — and we’re doing it together.”
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