Economic Empowerment - North Carolina Black Alliance

Triangle catering association’s first Black prez reclaiming hospitality, offsetting AI

John McCann — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:17:49 +0000

Triangle catering association’s first Black prez reclaiming hospitality, offsetting AI

Arie Bobbit (right), the community engagement manager for North Carolina Black Alliance (NCBA), discusses the upcoming NC Black Summit with Katesha Phillips, NCBA’s director of constituent services and community engagement during a planning meeting at the organization’s downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, headquarters on Feb. 6, 2026.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Artificial intelligence is doing the most right now.

Most folks just call it AI, out here providing mental health services. Engineering software. Getting booed up with human beings.

But AI can’t do event planning — not the way Arie Bobbitt does it:

“We were looking for nice centerpieces for the main ballroom,” recalled Katesha Phillips, the director of constituent services and community engagement for North Carolina Black Alliance (NCBA).

Phillips was flashing back to calling on Bobbitt in 2025 for the organization’s annual summit on environmental injustice and health care.

“She came up with the idea to purchase small succulents, which went perfectly with the theme of the event,” Phillips said. “Since they were live, we were able to give them to attendees at the end of the event. An environmental gift that keeps on giving.”

Narrative shift

The operative word here is planning — event planning, as opposed to merely throwing a party.

“The main misconception is that it’s all about making space look pretty and not the logistics,” Bobbitt said. “You can have a beautiful room but a terrible guest experience if you don’t think about the logistics.”

Some people tasked with organizing an event see it as just work.

Bobbitt creates art.

“Event planning is definitely an artform,” Bobbitt said.

As the first Black president of the Triangle chapter of the National Association for Catering and Events, Bobbitt is reclaiming service work, explained James Griffin, Ed.D., a professor in the College of Hospitality & Business at Johnson & Wales University’s Providence, Rhode Island, campus.

“The long history of the Black and African-American community and that notion of hospitality, a lot of the professionalization of it dates back to the origins of household servants — which is an offputting way of looking at it — but we see that lineage when we teach. We’re building on the shoulders of those former household servants and professionalizing it,” Griffin said. “We professionalized it, and we refuse to allow it to be indentured servitude. We refuse to allow it to be this form of servitude that was subordinate, and we turned it into service and hospitality and the heartfelt gift of hospitality.”

Emotional intelligence outsmarting AI

Bobbitt has a new role with NCBA, too. She’s the organization’s community engagement manager.

“Arie brings a wealth of events experience and strong industry relationships that have strengthened our work in meaningful ways,” Phillips said. “She has added an additional piece to this year’s 20th NC Black Summit banquet that I know the attendees will love! You will have to be in attendance to see.”

Bobbitt studied hospitality and tourism management at North Carolina Central University in Durham. She started leaning into event planning while working the front desk at a hotel.

“It’s crazy, because someone else saw my gifts before I did,” Bobbitt said. “I was an intern at the Millennium Hotel Durham, and the director of sales encouraged me to consider becoming a catering manager because of my attention to detail and my ability to anticipate needs. This aligns with my personality of not needing or wanting to be in the spotlight. I shine quietly behind the scenes and make sure those that want to be in the spotlight shine.”

Arie Bobbitt, the community engagement manager for North Carolina Black Alliance (NCBA), is the first Black president of the Triangle chapter of the National Association for Catering & Events. She is shown here during a meeting with NCBA team members at the organization’s downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, headquarters on Feb. 6, 2026.

AI sure enough loves the spotlight, taking orders at fast-food joints, doing journalism, building websites — ahem! — event planning.

“I can take my guest menu — if I have standard recipes, which most places have — I can lay them into the AI, and I can do a production plan. And then using that production plan, AI can do my predictive schedule for labor. So I can go into an event plan based on a menu’s complexity and size, number of guests, and AI can handle not only the staff scheduling for both service and food production, but it can produce it and, in advance, can optimize it. And in a matter of four or five minutes, I can have the entire event plan done and schedule done, which typically would have taken several hours of work previously,” Griffin said. “Then there’s also a piece we know tech won’t affect, will never replace, and that’s the human touch. You know, my coming to your table with gracious hospitality to bring your first course, and the ability to look you in the eye and maybe just do open body language and a smile at a time when you might be sitting to catch your breath from a long day. You might be in recovery from a stressful event, or you might be joyful over some occasion that’s being honored, and here I am throwing you the emotion in my interaction with you to honor you. That piece, I don’t think, will be easily replaced with tech, ever. And I also think it takes a human to fully comprehend how to do that, how to engage each other with this open, heartfelt gift of hospitality.”

In other words, Bobbitt is offsetting AI with emotional intelligence. It’s job security.

“Her warm presence at our events reflects the spirit of our organization — welcoming, engaging and deeply connected to the community we serve,” Phillips said.

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Economic opportunity for all requires access: Why credit caps threatens progress

R S — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 13:44:14 +0000

Economic opportunity for all requires access: Why credit caps threatens progress

For generations, the fight for civil rights in North Carolina has been inextricably linked to the fight for economic justice. North Carolina Black Alliance and Advance Carolina carry forward that legacy today. Our mission is to advocate for policies that expand opportunity and build economic power within Black communities. We know that the change we seek is impossible without access to the financial tools that allow families to buy homes, students to afford their education, farmers to maintain their equipment, and entrepreneurs to launch and grow their small businesses.

Historically, Black North Carolinians were systematically excluded from the mainstream financial system through redlining and discriminatory lending. Opportunity was a closed door for many.

Over the past several decades, however, we have made meaningful progress in expanding credit access. While the system remains far from perfect, it’s important to recognize that modern credit markets have brought millions of “credit invisible” people, those with limited or thin credit histories, into the regulated financial fold.

When used responsibly, credit cards play an essential role in further expanding access to credit. In fact, 74% of adults in the United States have a credit card in their name. When it comes to small businesses, 89% of them rely on credit cards to make purchases.

For many Black-owned small businesses that lack deep cash reserves or longstanding banking relationships, a credit card is often the first and most accessible form of capital. It is the “financial oxygen” used to cover inventory, manage payroll or handle an unexpected equipment repair in a pinch.

That is why we must look closely at proposals that risk deterring access to credit cards, such as a federal 10% cap on credit card interest rates. While the intention of lowering costs for families who are struggling with the high cost of living is one we all share, a blunt “one-size-fits-all” cap could produce unintended consequences.

Because credit card interest rates reflect the actual cost and risk of lending, if the government sets a rate below the cost of that risk, lenders do not simply absorb the loss. They tighten their standards and stop lending to anyone considered a “higher risk.” In our communities, where families and businesses are still working to build up their credit scores responsibly after decades of exclusion, the added impact of being labeled “risky borrowers” would be devastating to their family financial plan.

In a letter recently sent to lawmakers, the National Bankers Association, which has spent nearly 100 years advocating for mission-driven banks that serve underserved and low- to moderate-income communities, stated that a 10% percent rate cap would “stifle our shared financial inclusion goals, reduce access to credit, and push consumers to far more costly and less regulated lenders.”

They pointed to research showing that, “When consumers lose access to credit, they often reduce spending on essentials such as health care, education and food, and are more likely to fall behind on bills, mortgage and rent payments.”

We have worked too hard to open doors to credit access for millions to risk them closing again. If we want to ensure that economic opportunities are accessible and equitable for all, we should focus on bipartisan solutions that increase transparency, support financial literacy and encourage community-based lending.

I urge our elected leaders not only to protect the progress we’ve made, but to continue to move us forward until every North Carolinian has a fair shot to realize their full potential.

Marcus Bass

Executive Director

Marcus Bass is the executive director for North Carolina Black Alliance and Advance Carolina.

The post Economic opportunity for all requires access: Why credit caps threatens progress first appeared on North Carolina Black Alliance.

The SAVE Act doesn’t save anything

R S — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 19:28:02 +0000

The SAVE Act doesn’t save anything

Voter suppression is nothing new to Black voters in America. Over the last two decades, numerous states have constructed obstacles to the ballot box by imposing strict voter identification laws, limiting voter registration, cutting early voting times, and even attempting to purge voter rolls.

These efforts received a boost on Thursday when the United States House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, better known as the SAVE Act. The SAVE Act would require all eligible Americans to provide proof of citizenship by presenting a U.S. passport or birth certificate when registering or re-registering to vote in federal elections. This would be on top of state voter ID laws already in place.

Why is this problematic?

The SAVE Act doesn’t save anything. It is a blatant attempt to silence voters and create more barriers that block millions from registering to vote, especially Black, brown and indigenous communities, women, and working families. The U.S. House of Representatives wants Americans to believe that the SAVE Act strengthens election integrity. FALSE. Studies have found that non-citizen voting is extremely rare, with insignificant incident rates between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent. Current voter registration systems have numerous safeguards that have proven to be effective.

More than half of American citizens do not have a passport readily available. That’s 146 million Americans, to be exact. The economic burden of securing the required documentation would impact Black voters significantly. Passports cost, on average, $165, and a birth certificate may cost up to $60. With inflation on the rise and whispers of an impending recession, Black voters should not be forced to have a mandated poll tax placed upon them when they are executing their civic duty.

Many elderly citizens in the south lack birth certificates due to historical practices, limited access to healthcare, and the lack of emphasis on birth registration in the past. Imagine having no birth certificate because you were delivered by a midwife inside your parent’s home during the 1940s and 1950s. This is the reality for many elderly citizens in rural North Carolina.

The SAVE Act will prevent voter registration online or by mail and end voter registration drives, as individuals must show proof of citizenship documentation in person. Local election officials who are already underfunded and overwhelmed will have increased administrative burdens.

Our democracy works best when all voices are heard, and our freedom to vote is protected. In the past, Congress has been on the right side of this with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

The SAVE Act is on the wrong side and is nothing more than a federal voter suppression bill designed to silence the voices of millions of Americans, including those right here in North Carolina. If Congress were to enact this legislation, it would be an enormous departure from the mission of protecting the freedom to vote.

Hasani Mitchell

Democracy & Economy Coordinator

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SCOTUS Chevron ruling flex squeezes Black and brown communities

R S — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 20:02:22 +0000

SCOTUS Chevron ruling flex squeezes Black and brown communities

It was 1984—the case Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The highest court in the land saw fit to stay in its lane and let the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) interpret and enforce the Clean Air Act. The ruling forced Chevron to put policy over pollution, prioritizing people over profit.

The big idea there was during times when too much legalease leaves laws too confusing, instead of having, say, federal judges with no expertise in environmental policy determine outcomes, the courts would defer to the experts, folks from the EPA, as it were. That’s where the Chevron deference reference derived.

A New Precedent with Far-Reaching Implications for Black and Brown Communities

Fast-forward 40 years. Different case. Different court makeup. Brand-new precedent.

In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a federal agency had no right to force owners of a fishing business to pay to have an official inspector on a boat, making sure anglers didn’t disrupt the ecosystem by catching too many fish. The verdict is bad news for Black and brown people, in particular.

These communities often rely on robust federal regulations to safeguard against systemic inequities and discriminatory practices.

The high court’s ruling removed muscle — Chevron deference — that federal agencies flexed in matters including public health, education, safety, housing, public assistance, environmental justice and economic opportunity.

This change underscores the importance of continued advocacy and vigilance that ensures the rights and well-being of these communities are upheld.

Let’s say a developer’s plans for a manufacturing plant would generate waste that runs into the water supply of a Black neighborhood. There was a time — as recent as June — when the EPA had the final say in making sure Black residents there remained safe.

Chevron’s deference is gone.

“The recent Chevron ruling represents a significant setback for environmental justice, undermining the ability of marginalized communities to safeguard their health and environment,” said Chad Martin, NCBA environmental justice policy strategist. “By granting excessive deference to regulatory agencies, the ruling diminishes the accountability of these agencies to the public and allows corporate interests to unduly influence environmental policies. This weakens crucial protections and perpetuates environmental inequities, disproportionately affecting low-income and minority communities already burdened by pollution and environmental hazards. The ruling, thus, hinders the progress toward a more equitable and just environmental policy, exacerbating the challenges faced by those most vulnerable to environmental harm.”

Impacts on Federal Agency Experts and Civil Rights Enforcement

Unraveling Chevron deference impacts the work of experts at federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Individuals at those agencies could find it more challenging to defend civil rights laws, potentially weakening enforcement that has helped Black and brown people, rolling back progress against discrimination.

“The decision to overturn Chevron deference undermines public-health precautions that keep our communities safe,” said Karida Giddings, NCBA access to healthcare coordinator. “Judges lack the scientific and medical expertise necessary to ensure that dangerous and ineffective drugs do not threaten consumers’ health and safety. In a country where our health care system is unnecessarily complicated and dysfunctional, the costs of this ruling are high. Unfortunately, the American people and our communities will pay the price.”

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