I’m inspired and energized by the recent announcement of OneTen, a coalition of visionary employers who have committed to create one million new opportunities for Black people in America over the next ten years. Year Up and Grads of Life were honored to support its creation, and I’m thrilled to see it come to fruition. We’ll continue to support in any way we can; there has never been a more critical time to engage in this work.

We need dramatic, sustained changes to our country’s policies and practices in order to ensure that our society is far more inclusive, and that economic mobility is accessible to all.

Our country has lost one of our most important leaders. John Lewis fought relentlessly for racial justice for more than six decades and was this nation’s conscience on civil rights.

Systemic and institutional racism plays a key role in determining which young adults get opportunities to experience economic mobility, and which young adults face countless obstacles to reaching their full potential.

In a country already suffering from rising income inequality, it is more important than ever to ensure that the most economically vulnerable Americans do not fall further in the months and year ahead.