ICYMI: At Essence Fest, Biden-Harris Administration Officials Discuss Impact of Bidenomics and the President's Efforts to Advance Equity and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans

On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to New Orleans for the Global Black Economic Forum at the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture where she participated in a moderated conversation with Thasunda Brown Duckett, Chief Executive Officer of TIAA, on the impact of initiatives from the Biden-Harris Administration that are dedicated to advancing economic opportunity. See her remarks here.

On Friday, the Vice President participated in a moderated conversation with Sunny Hostin, media personality and co-host of

The View, and Monica Simpson, Executive Director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, on issues ranging from protecting reproductive freedom to addressing the maternal health crisis. See her remarks here.

Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield also traveled to New Orleans to participate in the Essence Festival of Culture's Global Black Economic Forum.

On Thursday, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield participated in a discussion with former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on empowering women leaders. See her remarks here.

On Friday, Secretary Yellen delivered remarks on unlocking economic opportunity for underserved communities. See her remarks here.

Read more about the issues Biden-Harris Administration officials highlighted during the Essence Festival:

ESSENCE: Women Leaders Take Center Stage At The Global Black Economic Forum Summit At ESSENCE Fest

Bookended by appearances from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman President of any African country, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the GBEF Summit kicked off with a message of empowering women. […] Introducing Greenfield, David noted that "[s]he's using her office to make sure that we realize the true purpose of the continent of Africa, the true purpose of the United States, the true purpose of diplomacy, in achieving equity and equality for all of us."

NOLA.com: VP Kamala Harris, Treasury Chief Janet Yellen to visit New Orleans Friday for Essence

A key phrase in Biden's speech and in related speeches from his administration officials is growing the economy "from the bottom up and the middle out." In the speech Wednesday, Biden argued that "trickle down" policies of previous Republican administrations had "failed the middle class...blew up the deficit, it increased inequity and it weakened our infrastructure."

The Root: Exclusive: Essence Fest 2023 Has a Surprise Political Guest This Year

For the first time ever, a U.S. Treasury Secretary is heading to the annual New Orleans celebration of all things Black. […] First things first, let's put this all in a little context. Over the last week, the administration has been touting what they and others have dubbed "Bidenomics," i.e., the economic policy ethos of the administration. In a speech on Wednesday, President Joe Biden pitched his vision of Bidenomics, which includes pushing for policies that favor the middle-class and economically disadvantaged instead of the wealthy elite.

Axios: Kamala Harris tells Essence crowd SCOTUS affirmative action ruling is "a denial of opportunity

Vice President Kamala Harris shared her "deep disappointment" for the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling during an event Thursday in New Orleans. […] "It is in so very many ways a denial of opportunity," Harris said of the ruling, while encouraging the audience to read the "brilliant" dissenting opinion written by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

NPR: VP Kamala Harris says the Supreme Court took rights from the people of America

Tens of thousands of people showed up this past weekend for the Essence Festival in New Orleans, where Vice President Harris headlined panel conversations about economic opportunity and maternal health and reproductive rights. On both days she spoke, the U.S. Supreme Court issued monumental decisions that ended the use of race as a factor in college admissions and blocked the Biden administration's attempt to forgive student loan debt. It also ruled that businesses could refuse LGBTQ customers. "This is a serious moment and fundamental issues are at stake," Harris told NPR's Michel Martin in her first interview after the court decisions at the Essence Festival. "And I do believe that there is a national movement afoot to attack hard won and hard fought freedoms."