Every election season we see the fundraisers. $150 tickets. $500 sponsors. $1,000 hosts. $2,500 PAC donors. The question isn't whether politicians should raise money. The real question is why so many Black people are not in the room when these conversations are happening.

Politics is about access. It's about relationships. It's about who gets invited, who gets heard, and who helps shape the agenda before decisions are made. Yet many Black families are fighting rising housing costs, inflation, healthcare expenses, student debt, transportation costs, and stagnant wages. For many households, a $150 political donation is not realistic.

This creates a serious question. If influence follows access, and access often follows money, where does that leave the working-class Black community?

The issue is bigger than one politician, one fundraiser, or one political party. It is about economic power. Communities with wealth tend to have stronger political influence because they have the resources to fund campaigns, support organizations, hire lobbyists, and maintain a seat at the table year after year.

For decades, Black communities have been told to vote. The question now is whether we are also building the economic strength necessary to participate at every level of the political process. Voting matters. But ownership matters. Wealth matters. Organization matters. Political literacy matters.

Until more of us are in the room where decisions are being made, we will continue to find ourselves on the outside asking why decisions keep being made for us instead of with us.

The question is not who attended the fundraiser.

The question is why so many of us cannot.