Black Economic Alliance (BEA)

Finances

According to its 2023 tax return, the Black Economic Alliance (BEA) reported $1,397,440 in revenue, of which $1,314,975 stemmed from contributions and grants. It had $811,996 in expenses, of which $143,573 was spent on salaries and compensation with the rest being spent on items like travel, office and legal expenses, and IT costs. It ended the year with a surplus of $585,444  and net assets of $929,937. ³

Affiliated Organizations

Black Economic Alliance PAC

The Black Economic Alliance PAC is the group’s affiliated political action committee. In the 2024 cycle it endorsed the Presidential campaign of then-Vice President Kamala Harris and 11 House and Senate candidates, of whom 10 were elected. It spent $511,998.96 during the 2024 Election Cycle. ^{4 5 6}

Black Economic Alliance Foundation

Black Economic Alliance’s charitable affiliate is the Black Economic Alliance Foundation and claims to focus on developing policy research. In 2023, it reported revenues of $7,972,048. ^{2 7}

Organization Philosophy

The Black Economic Alliance works to promote left-of-center views and policies. It is supportive of corporate diversity measures and has encouraged corporations to continue these efforts in the wake of Donald Trump’s second election to the presidency in late 2024. It also promotes various government-subsidized programs and advocates for the federal overruling of local zoning ordinances. ^{1 8}

Advocacy

The Black Economic Alliance (BEA) has advocated for the creation of additional regulations to combat alleged discrimination in the housing market. These include increased background checks and programs for providing financial assistance for low-income homebuyers. It has also advocated for low-income housing tax credits e exempt for most zoning requirements.  ¹

The BEA has also advocated for the development of additional private and government-level programs to provide training and capital for African-American owned businesses. These include reforms to business licensing laws and updated licensing requirements such as eliminating “good character” clauses. ¹

BEA calls for an increase in the federal minimum wage as well as additional training and funding towards educational and training institutions. It has also advocated in favor of the requirement for all federally funded workplace development programs to require that applicants focus on diversity and equity in their labor practices. The BEA has also advocated for updates to the tax code such as updating the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit as well as changing the taxation of wage income. ¹

Th BEA has advocated for changes to voting procedures such as a 2-week early voting period, increasing the number of available voting stations, expanding the number of acceptable IDs required to vote, and federal approval needed for districts to change voting rules to prevent alleged voter discrimination. ¹

Leadership

Samantha Tweedy is the CEO of the Black Economic Alliance, a position she has held January of 2023. She is also the president of the Black Economic Alliance Foundation, becoming the group’s first president in 2021. She was previously employed by the New York City-based Robin Hood and Uncommon Schools. ⁹