Black Wealth Creation Starts And Ends With Cities [Op-Ed]
President Lyndon Johnson famously said, “When the burdens of the presidency seem unusually heavy, I always remind myself it could be worse. I could be a mayor.”
He may have been half-kidding, but Johnson’s quip is more prescient than ever with the overhaul we are seeing within the federal government. Six months into the second administration of President Trump, it is increasingly clear that mayors and governors will have to lead the charge on advancing economic opportunity – and delivering on affordability, inclusive growth, and supporting free enterprise that the federal government has affirmatively rejected.
President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is the latest example of a policy that rejects basic economic principles that are proven to spur growth.
The legislation will create significant budget shortfalls for cities and states. It cuts $700 billion in Medicaid and $295 billion in SNAP funding over the next decade – pushing costs onto states and counties while straining essential services. At the same time, billions in affordable housing, climate resilience, and economic development grants tied to the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are being wiped out. Cities like Milwaukee could lose millions for key infrastructure projects – including one designed to right previous wrongs committed against Black and Latino communities; Texas faces $39 billion in lost Medicaid support; New York risks losing $325 million in resiliency funding alone.
However, the dollar figures only tell part of the story. The bill will kick nearly 10 million people off health insurance. According to a study from the University of Pennsylvania, this will cause 51,000 preventable deaths annually. That’s the equivalent of losing the entire population of Hoboken, New Jersey, or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, every single year – not to a natural disaster, but to a deliberate policy choice.
These choices underscore a larger truth: when the federal government fails to act, or actively harms the communities it should protect, the burden of leadership falls to those closest to the people. Historically, partnership and collaboration between the federal government and local leaders has been uneven, especially on economic policy. For example, the federal minimum wage is still below $8 an hour, while states like Washington, New York, and California have forged ahead with rates that are double that. But moving forward, state and local leaders must push ahead knowing that the federal government intends to be an obstacle, not a partner.
Across the country, mayors and governors are investing in Black communities, growing inclusive economies, and making economic opportunity a matter of local policy. These efforts are not driven by ideology; they’re driven by the understanding that people are feeling the impacts of an economy facing inflation due to tariffs and bad policy, with no end in sight anytime soon. As a result, municipal and state-level executives have to deliver. That’s what President Johnson understood. Mayors and governors don’t have the luxury to wage culture war campaigns (although that has not stopped a few governors from trying). Rather, their proximity to their constituents incentivizes pursuing policies that meet the needs of the people they serve.
We saw this kind of leadership on full display at this year’s Global Black Economic Forum Public Convention and Business Summit, where the Global Black Economic Forum convened leaders from around the globe to share solutions to some of the nation’s most pressing issues. Mayors and governors didn’t just talk about the need for economic transformation; they showed how they’re already delivering it.
For example, Governor Wes Moore of Maryland, the only Black governor in America, laid out a vision for what it means to build “wealth with purpose,” from closing the racial homeownership gap to training a future-ready workforce. Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, the city’s first Black mayor, reminded us that local power has always been at the forefront of progress. And Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois emphasized the role states can play in scaling innovation, access to capital, and long-term opportunity.
The lesson is clear: if the federal government is retreating from the advancing economic equity, then we must redirect our attention and investments to the places that are still moving forward. That means focusing on local ecosystems where bold, Black-led solutions are already reshaping what economic opportunity looks like.
To keep this momentum going, we need to shift more than just policy priorities. We need to shift capital. Philanthropy must direct resources toward place-based, Black-led economic development. The private sector must double down on local supplier diversity and entrepreneurship support. And voters must begin to hold mayors, city councils, and governors to the same standard we hold federal leaders – arguably, higher.
Local leaders are carrying a heavy burden – but they’re the ones in the political ecosystem who will carry the movement for economic justice forward. They need our help. They need our attention. They need our partnership. If we want to build Black wealth – and build a stronger, more equitable economy for everyone – we should support their efforts and find ways to partner with them to drive economic opportunity for all.
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Alphonso David is a civil rights attorney, co-counsel to the Fearless Fund, and the President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum.
SEE ALSO:
How The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Harms Black Women
Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Destroy Medicare, Food Stamps
Black Wealth Creation Starts And Ends With Cities [Op-Ed] was originally published on newsone.com
