On June 12, 2020 Crosscut published a story about the barriers that Black political consultants were experiencing moving their work into higher profile legislative campaigns. The consultants were urged to “get on the list!” Significant political funding committees, such as the House Democratic Campaign Committee, have lists of favored political consultants. But how do you get on a secret list, even when that list is the key to your business growth and success?
We are joined by Tacoma political consultant Christina Blocker of the Archway Consulting Group to talk about the business of political consulting, the campaigns that she has designed and steered to success, and how she and her partners tried to break down the walls of silence and get on the list. Christina was a key figure in the Crosscut article and has been building Archway into a local political and social justice force.
And the same day that we recorded this episode, Crosscut came out with an updated story! Good progress and responses from the Senate Democrats and from the state Democratic Party, but there is sill work to be done to make sure all businesses have equal access to this line of work, and all candidates get to select the consultants who they feel will work best for their campaigns.
This is a fascinating subject, and so timely. While many of our leaders in the political and business communities are voicing their support for Black Lives Matter and Black business, can they walk the walk, or are they just talk? And who’s going to have a word with the HDCC? Because their response to this has been a grave disappointment.
For your background, here are the Crosscut stories:
- June 12: https://crosscut.com/2020/06/black-consultants-accuse-wa-democratic-groups-racism
- June 26: https://crosscut.com/2020/06/2-democratic-groups-pledge-address-racism-wa-politics
Thoughts on this, or suggestions for future episodes? Get in touch!
Evelyn Lopez: @True_Tacoma truetacoma@gmail.com
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