Project 21: Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – For the first time in its 116-year history, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has chosen not to invite the sitting U.S. president to speak at its Annual Convention. In response, black conservatives with the Project 21 black leadership network stepped in to ask President Donald J. Trump to meet with them on the day he might have otherwise addressed the antiquated racial activist group. “To some, it might seem inexcusable that the NAACP broke from tradition and failed to invite you, the President of these great United States, to speak at their ...

Washington, D.C. – Juneteenth is a perfect opportunity to encourage community, self-improvement and American exceptionalism, say ambassadors with the Project 21 black leadership network. For 26 years, long before President Joe Biden and a combination of combatant and craven politicians co-opted Juneteenth for political purposes, Project 21 ambassadors have commemorated the anniversary of the June 19, 1865 arrival of Union troops in Galveston, Texas, who came bearing news that the Civil War was over and that the Emancipation Proclamation had abolished slavery two and a half years earlier. Galveston’s former slave population called the anniversary of that day “Juneteenth,” and it became a ...

Black Conservatives Cite Fatherhood as Key Component in Economic Advancement, Overcoming Adversity In recognition of Father’s Day, ambassadors with the Project 21 black leadership network are speaking out about the important role of fathers, particularly in black families. Project 21 ambassadors value strong families, entrepreneurial spirits and individual responsibility – ethics that have not traditionally been echoed by the American civil rights establishment. In this spirit, the ambassadors are crafting new initiatives to promote black fatherhood, which will help advance black opportunity right now and create prosperity to benefit future generations. “Father’s Day reminds us that fatherhood is not just ...

Washington, D.C. – House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is not the first to propose a “blueprint for a better America.” Black conservatives have had one for years, and they hope congressional progressives will take it into account as they attempt to develop their own. On Wednesday, in the wake of President Trump’s historic first 100 days, Jeffries delivered remarks intended to revitalize his progressive colleagues’ faltering agenda. He announced that, over the next 100 days, “House Democrats are going to lay out a blueprint for a better America. And you will see a vision for this country’s future that isn’t ...

Washington, D.C. – As President Trump opened his 2025 Joint Address to Congress, he declared: “America is back!” Ambassadors with the Project 21 black leadership network agree, and note that the president is fulfilling long-held campaign promises that put ALL Americans first. “President Trump boldly proclaimed that ‘America is back’ from the start of his speech and laid out a dynamic plan on how he plans to accomplish that,” said Project 21 Ambassador Kendall Qualls. “He gave examples of billions of dollars in corrupt and wasteful spending, and promised to protect women from male athletes. From the beginning of his ...

Washington, D.C. - On Thursday, September 19, Donna Jackson, Director of Membership Development for Project 21 -- the black leadership network of the National Center for Public Policy Research -- will testify before the U.S. House Committee on the Budget in a public hearing titled "The Cost of the Biden Energy Crisis." Black communities suffer disproportionately from the Biden administration's Green New Deal policies and its attacks on affordable, clean and reliable fossil fuels. These policies have exacerbated, if not created, the inflationary pressures increasingly felt by all Americans -- especially black Americans at the lower end of the economic ladder. "Green New Deal-style ...

Biden Policies “Disconnected From Reality,” Say Black Conservatives Washington, D.C. - In response to President Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union address, the third of his increasingly troubled presidency, ambassadors with the Project 21 black leadership network noted that the president's take on the State of the Union doesn't align with reality. "The title of tonight's State of the Union address should have been, 'Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?'" said Project 21 ambassador and radio talk show host Christopher Arps. "The president boasts that 'Bidenomics' is working, but prices are up, wages are ...

Washington, D.C. - To hold the Fairfax County School Board accountable for racist admissions practices at the elite Thomas Jefferson High School in Northern Virginia and clarify the constitutional rights of individuals over preferred groups nationwide, ambassadors of the Project 21 black leadership network joined a legal brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a parents' lawsuit against the Board. Project 21 signed onto a amici curiae ("friends of the court") brief with more than 20 other individuals and groups in the case of Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board that contends the Board violated the Equal ...

Washington, D.C. – Ambassadors with the Project 21 black leadership network cheered today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on two seminal affirmative action cases: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina. Project 21 had filed an amicus brief in the Harvard case. The Court ruled in favor of Students for Fair Admissions in both cases, by deciding that institutions of higher learning cannot use race as a factor in admissions. In the Court’s ruling, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that the Court says it has "permitted ...

Black Families Benefit from Industry Jobs, Not Poverty Washington, D.C. -- Donna Jackson, director of membership development at the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Project 21 black leadership network, will testify today before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in a public hearing titled “Impacts of Plastic Production and Disposal on Environmental Justice Communities.” Black communities suffer today from a lack of economic opportunities. Offshoring of industries, like plastics manufacturing, has been a significant driver in the escalating poverty cycle that irreparably harms many black families. “It is an overwhelmingly positive thing for struggling communities to ...

Biden Emission Standards Will Devastate Economy, Especially Minority Families and Businesses Washington, D.C. - Donna Jackson, the Director of Membership Development for Project 21 - the black leadership network of the National Center for Public Policy Research - will testify today before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a public hearing titled "EPA Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicle Notice of Proposed Rulemaking." The hearing follows EPA's April 12, 2023, announcement of "new, more ambitious proposed standards to further reduce harmful air pollutant emissions from light-duty and medium-duty vehicles starting with model year 2027." The new ...

Washington, D.C. -- Citing the risk of formalized discrimination against people for their political and religious opinions, activists with Project 21, the black leadership network of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), delivered a letter yesterday to U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kiran Ahuja on behalf of 42 of its members and the organizations they represent requesting that OPM reject a proposed change to federal hiring and retention rules that would affect not only current employees, but the future hiring of federal employees and contractors. In the letter, Project 21 members told Director Ahuja that they ...

Biden Still “Out of Touch With Reality,” Say Black Conservatives Washington, D.C. – In response to President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address, the second of his troubled presidency, ambassadors with the Project 21 black leadership network noted that the president’s assessment and the true state of the union are polar extremes. “Honestly, there isn’t really anything President Biden can say that impacts the American people positively. Why? Because the American people have been deeply impacted by a number of hard realities resulting from weak leadership in the White House,” said Project 21 ambassador Joe Mobley. “This includes ...

Civil Rights Leaders Fought for Equal Opportunity, Not Equal Outcomes, Say Project 21 Members Washington, D.C. – At the beginning of our nation’s month-long annual celebration of more than 400 years of black influence upon American history, members of the Project 21 black leadership network reflect on the tremendous strides made in civil rights. Yet, even with these advances, government-imposed regulations still often stand in the way of their ability for black citizens to fully realize the American Dream. “Over the last year, the national debate has focused far more on the interests of the green and woke warriors rather ...

Biden Energy Policies Threaten Minority Families and Businesses Washington, D.C. - Donna Jackson - the Director of Membership Development for Project 21, the black leadership network of the National Center for Public Policy Research - will testify today before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce for the second time this year. The hearing, titled "American Energy Expansion: Strengthening Economic, Environmental and National Security," is its first hearing of the 118th Congress. Just a few years after the United States became a net energy exporter for the first time in decades, the Biden Administration's restrictive policies - ...

Government Policies Designed to Help Minorities Are Hurting Them Instead Washington, D.C. – As Americans commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., members of the Project 21 black leadership network note that the civil rights icon’s goals of increased opportunity and social mobility for black Americans are at risk thanks to destructive policies promoted by green activists and progressives. In the week preceding the King holiday, Project 21 Director of Membership Development Donna Jackson delivered powerful remarks about this problem to members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. She highlighted the devastating effects ...

Minority Communities are Suffering Under the Green Energy Agenda Washington, D.C. - Today Donna Jackson - the Director of Membership Development for Project 21, the black leadership network of the National Center for Public Policy Research - will deliver remarks to members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce highlighting the devastating effects the push to green energy is having on minority, and especially black, communities. Escalating energy costs are tough on middle class Americans, but especially tough on families living paycheck to paycheck and striving to join the middle class. This is where black families and ...

Washington, DC – Project 21, the black leadership network of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), delivered a letter today to Twitter Chief Executive Elon Musk that requests a meeting to discuss the other side of the black experience on social media. The request counters a demand from the NAACP, National Urban League and National Action Network to meet with Twitter executives in an obvious attempt to influence Twitter’s move toward free speech and inclusivity of divergent viewpoints. “With Elon Musk’s recent acquisition of Twitter and his commitment to the tenets of free speech, Project 21 seeks to ...

Black Leadership Network's Agenda for Solving the Problems Facing Black America Washington, D.C. - Members of the Project 21 black leadership network, a project of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), released their "Blueprint for a Better Deal for Black America" at a roundtable luncheon on Capitol Hill hosted by The Heritage Foundation. NCPPR President David Ridenour and Project 21 Chairman Horace Cooper, who led the discussion, were joined by Heritage Foundation policy experts as well as Hill staff and members of the media. While the national debate during the first two years of President Biden's administration has focused on the virtues of wokeism and eco-alarmism, ...

Washington, D.C. – Black leaders from Project 21 demand that Verizon reinstate One America News (OAN) on its television platform. In a letter signed by 37 members representing the communities of business, politics, media and faith, Project 21 explained that Verizon did “a tremendous disservice to its subscribers, investors and free speech [and]… is silencing black voices” when it canceled OAN. Verizon stopped carrying OAN on its Fios platform at the end of July. Its cancellation marked the end of a 17-year relationship between the news channel and the carrier. Left-wing groups are aggressively pushing media companies to drop the ...