Are You Ready for
The Next Wave?
Black Creatives for Political Power
The Next Wave is a political training program designed to equip Black artists, creatives, and culture workers who are ready to lead beyond the canvas, stage, or studio and into public office.
We believe culture is power, and creatives shape the narrative of society every day. It’s time that same power influences our policy, our leadership, and our communities. This is a campaign school for the culture.
Black creatives have long been visionaries, community builders, and truth-tellers but we’ve been left out of the spaces where political decisions are made.
The Next Wave prepares participants to run for public office with clarity, strategy, and authenticity bringing their full creative selves into civic leadership. We are building a bench of bold, culturally grounded leaders who understand that justice, art, and policy are deeply interconnected.
Our Tenets
Liberation
We move toward a future where our people are free — free to lead, free to rest, free to imagine new systems rooted in justice and care.
Solidarity
We don’t do this work alone. We believe in collective power, shared struggle, and showing up for one another. Our leadership is rooted in interdependence. When one of us runs, all of us rise.
Community
We are accountable to the people who raised us, fed us, inspired us, and fought for us. We run for office not to be above community, but to protect it. Our platforms are shaped by lived experience and rooted in love for our people.
Blackness
We lead with our whole selves. Our cultural brilliance, resistance, and imagination are our greatest political assets. Blackness is not something we hide or explain. It’s the foundation we build on.
Virtual Informational Session
Thursday, June 26 at 7pm ET
Join us for an informational session about The Next Wave: Black Creatives for Political Power, a bold new campaign school designed for Black artists, creatives, and culture workers ready to step into political leadership. This session will offer an overview of the program, our core tenets—Liberation, Solidarity, Community, and Blackness—and what to expect as a participant. Whether you're curious about running for office or ready to launch your campaign, come learn how we’re building power from the studio to the statehouse.
