WASHINGTON – Over the past several months, organizers, volunteers and candidates have gone door-to-door encouraging voters to harness their power and turn out to vote. But after candidates and their campaigns have said all the right things, shown up to all the must-attend events, and pledged their support to all the causes that matter, accountability season begins.
“Accountability season starts now,” said Dr. David Johns, Executive Director of the National Black Justice Collective and Editor-in-Chief of The Black Papers. “The 2026 midterm elections are over, and we still have work to do. Every elected official who won, and every candidate who wants our votes in 2028, must answer to the agenda that matters most to the American people.”
Now that the election has passed, we turn our focus to:
- Building Political Power. We are fighting for policies that strengthen voter protections. Voter protections are tied directly to economic power, and this is critical for allowing Black communities to control our destiny better.
- Policies that Create & Sustain Economic Opportunity. We expect elected leaders to advance policies that reverse Black job cuts, end the education and economic policies that destroy ladders of opportunity and widen the wealth gap, and build wealth we own and keep.
- Changing the Narrative Around Health: Supporting the Belief that Health Care is a Right. We are organizing for guaranteed health care for everyone through a single public plan that centers people first.
- Strengthening Community Safety and Justice. We want policies that ensure safety we can feel, and justice we can see.
- Transforming the Systems. Our goal is to unrig the economy from billionaires, end war spending Congress never authorized, and rein in AI companies and data centers.
“We are not asking for the old arrangement,” Johns added. “The old arrangement is how we got here. Black people are not asking Washington to fix a few policies. We are demanding a political and economic system that works for the people, not just for billionaires. People are already having this conversation at kitchen tables, in barbershops, in group chats, and in fellowship halls. Now, we’ve written it down via The Black Papers with the hopes of making it accessible.”
“It is true that our communities need immediate action to stop acute pain. But stopping the bleeding is not freedom, and harm reduction is not the systemic overhaul we demand. This agenda makes our expectations of elected officials clear: a durable, accountable plan to transform the systems that govern wealth, health, housing, education, safety, transportation, and political power. We stop the bleeding and build power at the same time. Every fight to stop harm also builds the organizations, relationships, and leverage we need for the next fight.”
For more information, view the forthcoming book, The Black Papers: A Policy Agenda for Black Liberation in the 21st Century. The resource will be published by Routledge on Nov. 13, 2026, and includes 26 chapters and more than 100 contributors.
“Accountability season begins now – on November 4, the day after the election. It carries us through the seating of the next Congress, the shifts in power that follow, and the run-up to the next presidential election. We will not relent until our agenda is materialized in policy and practice.”
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