Last Tuesday, Angela Glover Blackwell was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Richman Distinguished Fellow in Public Life. Blackwell has more than 30 years of experience in public service and equitable policymaking, including her role as chief executive officer and founder of PolicyLink, a research and action organization for economic equity.

The title of Blackwell's lecture "All-In for an America That Works for All" is derived from All-In Nation: for an America That Works for All, the recent collaborative effort of PolicyLink and the Center for American Progress which presents an argument in favor of empowering African-American communities for the benefit of the nation as a whole.

Daniel Terris, director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, and Lisa Lynch, the dean of the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, formally presented Blackwell with the Richman Fellowship certificate at the event.

In her lecture, Blackwell spoke about improving access and economic opportunity for low-income citizens, emphasizing solutions that empower minority communities in particular around issues like housing, employment and access to education.

Terris said in his introductory remarks that the Richman fellowship was created to honor individuals active in public life who have made "significant contributions to American society, advanced social justice objectives or increased opportunities for all citizen to realize and share in the promise of the United States."

The $25,000 fellowship was originally proposed by Carol Richman Saivetz '69 in honor of her parents Rita and Fred Richman, both of whom have been active members of the Brandeis community since the 1970s.

Blackwell's lecture was the culmination of a two-day visit to the University, during which she met with students, faculty and the extended community and participated in a panel discussion on regional economic equity efforts in Boston.

Prior to the lecture, Lynch provided a short introduction about Blackwell's life and her accomplishments, stating that Blackwell "truly exemplifies all the many dimensions of te Richman fellowship."

In her lecture, Blackwell cited "stalled economic mobility, a shrinking middle class and an economy too based on low wage work" as indicators that the American economy has not recovered from the "Great Recession" of 2009.

One of the biggest policy blunders of the United States, according to Blackwell, is its failure to "invest in the future." Blackwell explained that the rapidly shifting demographics of the nation to people of color has not been met with an equally swift effort to create opportunities for their economic mobility. "The very people that we need to be preparing for the future are the very people being left behind," said Blackwell.

Commenting on the way some seem to "pit social security against early childhood education" and imagine other such tradeoffs as necessary, Blackwell stated that "we are not a poor country and we need to stop acting like one. We have the ability to do it all."

Blackwell highlighted three major solutions to the issues of income inequality and future growth. "We need to grow good jobs, build capabilities, erase barriers and expand opportunities," she said.

Blackwell explained that despite decreasing poverty levels, the wealth gap has remained static. She expressed strong disagreement with the belief held by some economists that inequality stimulates growth. "Equity is the superior growth model," she said.

Following the lecture, Prof. Dolores Acevedo Garcia (Heller) of the Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy moderated a question-and-answer session with the audience.

In response to a question posed by Naomi Volk '14, who attended the event, about how to change the conversation surrounding the issues at hand, Blackwell cited journalists as one group that plays a pivotal role in shaping the national conversation.

In response to an attendee's question about ecological destruction associated with economic growth, Blackwell said that "for people concerned with climate change and the environment, it is people of color and low-income who suffer the most and suffer first," and cited the environmental agenda and the equality agenda as a "common cause."

The event was hosted by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life on behalf of the Office of the President.

Blackwell holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and a law degree from University of California, Berkeley. In addition to founding PolicyLink in 1999, Blackwell serves on President Barack Obama's advisory council on faith-based and neighborhood partnerships and was recently appointed to his advisory commission on education excellence for African-Americans, whose stated goal is to "improve student achievement, and developing a national network that shares these best practices," according to the initiative's website.