Angela Glover Blackwell

Angela Glover Blackwell is an American attorney, civil rights advocate, and author. In 1999, she founded the research and advocacy nonprofit organization PolicyLink and currently serves as its Founder in Residence after twenty years as President and CEO. Blackwell regularly provides expert commentary in a variety of news media and hosts the podcast "Radical Imagination".
Early life and education.
Blackwell grew up in racially-segregated St. Louis, Missouri, and then completed a B.A. at Howard University. In 2005, Blackwell discussed her childhood in St. Louis with "Yes!" magazine, stating, "For African-American families such as my own, community was the scaffolding that allowed us to achieve our visions in a society where we were locked out of the mainstream. By building strong communities, we were able to create our own pathways to personal fulfillment." She later completed her J.D. at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.
Career.
From 1977 to 1987, Blackwell was a Managing Attorney at the public-interest law firm Public Advocates, which included work on class action lawsuits and firm strategy development. In 1979, she advocated for a grocery store in Bayview, and while unsuccessful at the time, Gov. Jerry Brown then formed a commission to address the issue of 'food deserts.'
In 1987, Blackwell founded Urban Strategies Council in Oakland, California, which focuses on the needs of children and families with data-driven public policy advocacy and community organizing. After her work at the Urban Strategies Council, Blackwell was then a senior vice president and oversaw the Domestic and Cultural divisions at the Rockefeller Foundation for three years, where she focused on policy issues related to race and inclusion, and developed programs.
In 1999, Blackwell founded PolicyLink, a research and advocacy nonprofit organization focused on economic and social equity for low-income people and communities of color. PolicyLink is staffed by attorneys and public policy experts in California, Washington, D.C., and New York. In 2018, Blackwell transitioned from her role as President and CEO to Founder in Residence at PolicyLink.
In 2011, Blackwell was appointed to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. In 2014, Blackwell was appointed to the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.
In April 2020, Blackwell was appointed to the California Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery.
Commentary.
Blackwell has regularly appeared as a guest on Moyers & Company as a social justice expert, including in 1995, to discuss rebuilding communities, in 2004, to discuss econonic and social equity, in 2012, to discuss her optimism, and in 2014, to discuss systemic racism. Blackwell has also regularly appeared on C-SPAN networks, beginning in 1994. Blackwell also appeared on "NPR" in 2007 to discuss a study from the Pew Charitable Trusts on economic mobility, and on "PBS NewsHour" in 2014 to discuss progress made after fifty years of the war on poverty.
In 2009 and 2010, Blackwell wrote commentary about national health policy for "The Washington Post". In 2017, Blackwell wrote "The Curb-Cut Effect" in "Stanford Social Innovation Review", about how laws and programs designed for vulnerable groups often benefit everyone, followed by "Civil Society and Authentic Engagement in a Diverse Nation" in 2018. Blackwell further expounded on "the curb-cut effect" in a 2017 opinion article in "The New York Times".
As founder in residence at PolicyLink, Blackwell has continued to provide expert commentary on economic and social justice issues, including as the keynote speaker at the 2020 "Racism and the Economy" conference series hosted by the presidents of the Atlanta, Boston, and Minneapolis Federal Reserve Banks. In 2020, Blackwell co-authored opinion articles in "The New York Times", "The Los Angeles Times", and "The Mercury News".
In 2019, Blackwell began her podcast "Radical Imagination", which hosts experts for discussions about what Sarah Larson at the "The New Yorker" described as "big ideas, including reparations, housing as a human right, universal basic income, and [...] police abolition."
Personal life.
Blackwell is married to Dr. Fred Blackwell, an orthopedic surgeon, has two children, and several grandchildren. She has lived in Oakland, California for more than four decades.