Congressman Cedric L. Richmond
Chairman, Congressional Black Caucus; Louisiana – 2^nd Congressional District

Twitter: @RepRichmond

Technological advancements have created numerous economic and social opportunities—and ancillary challenges. This Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), has been focused on finding ways to advance the former and address the latter. We want to make sure that African Americans and other marginalized communities aren’t left behind in a nation and world that are becoming increasingly connected. 

Economic Challenges and Opportunities

The digitization of the global economy is transforming our nation’s workforce. One of the issues the CBC has been examining with stakeholders is the “future of work,” looking at how technology is changing workforce demands and what needs to be done to ensure African Americans are prepared for the jobs of the future. Part of this discussion has involved expanding access to STEM education and job training programs in both rural communities and inner cities. In addition, closing the digital divide that exists in these communities and exploring job opportunities in the cyber workforce are crucial as the internet of things creates more connected devices—and vulnerabilities.

Another part of this discussion has involved identifying new industries that could increase economic activity in the African-American community. One such industry is financial technology or “FinTech,” which seeks to better deliver financial services (e.g., online banking) through the use of technology (e.g., smartphones). The CBC has been fighting to ensure that growth in this emerging sector is equally shared, particularly in traditionally underserved communities.

The CBC has also been fighting to ensure that new technologies are not being developed with implicit bias built into the codes on which they operate to ensure that the automatic decisions these technologies make are not harmful to African-American consumers. As these technologies develop, the CBC is exploring the potential role of the federal government in preventing potential bad actors from using FinTech to exploit vulnerable consumers through predatory lending practices.

Finally, the CBC has been pushing our nation’s corporations in and outside of the technology industry to diversify their boards, c-suites, workforce, and suppliers. In fact, before corporations sit down with the CBC, we ask them for a detailed analysis of their diversity numbers. Promoting diversity at all levels of corporate America will help ensure companies make informed decisions about the demands of an increasingly diverse consumer base. In addition to being the right thing to do, diversity is good for business.

The CBC will continue to fight for policies that empower African Americans to compete in the global economy.

Social Challenges and Opportunities

Technological advancements have created social challenges and opportunities as well. This is especially true when it comes to voting rights. While technology is being used in some states to automatically register residents to vote or to make it easier for them to do so, it has also been used by foreign powers to undermine our elections.

In October, the CBC met with Facebook about ads Russia purchased on the platform to exploit racial divisions in the United States, which included a targeted attack on Black Lives Matter that, at times, characterized the group as violent. During the meeting, the CBC expressed to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in no uncertain terms that these racially divisive ads are completely unacceptable. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center suvey, Facebook is the primary social media platform for most Americans, with almost 70 percent of U.S. adults reporting that they are Facebook users. We impressed upon Sandberg that to whom much is given, much is required. The messages and images posted on Facebook impact not only the country, but the world; and Facebook has a responsibility to ensure that our enemies aren’t using its platform to incite racial violence and determine the leader of the free world.

Finally, we told Sandberg that the company’s lack of diversity might have prevented them from recognizing the problem sooner. Perhaps if Facebook had more African Americans conducting content analysis, someone would have noticed sooner that these ads were not what they seemed. Moreover, if Facebook had more African Americans in leadership positions, someone would have recognized that the company’s own content review policies admittedly failed to protect African-American users from being targeted on their platform. The CBC continues to engage Facebook and other social media companies to hold them accountable for the impact of their platforms on the African-American community.

Although the CBC is working hard to address these 21^st century challenges, we have not taken our eyes off challenges unaddressed in the 20^th century: pervasive voter suppression efforts, increasingly segregated public schools, and the broken criminal justice system. The CBC, also known as the conscience of the Congress since its establishment in 1971, will continue to inject moral leadership in Congress by identifying and addressing issues that affect African Americans and other marginalized communities now and in the decades to come. We will not surrender in the ongoing battle to advance African-American interests, from the halls of Congress, to the court rooms, and the board rooms.