James Felton Keith has already led on issues of housing affordability and activism throughout his professional career, and in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) over the last 10 years. Now he has a new mission.
Keith, 44, whose nickname is JFK, has led efforts on the affordability of housing, such as One45 most recently, and was successful in working with the Eliza Project development in Inwood providing 100% affordable housing for residents making under $65,000.
His DEI work began in 2011, when he served on the Taskforce in Geneva, Switzerland, to establish the standard index for DEI globally, which was published in 2021. It is used as a guideline that companies in 163 countries must follow, tying it to insurance premiums. In 2021, he established Inclusion Score, which manages DEI solutions for companies.
In recent years, Keith co-founded the Harlem Same Gender Loving, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Center, also known as HarlemCenter.org. The center has a new office space being built on 124th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues and will encompass 20,000 square feet.
Now he is using his years of professional experience in engineering, labor economics, entrepreneurship, and activism to undertake his latest challenge: He is running in the 2026 midterm election against Rep. Adriano Espaillat for the House 13th Congressional District seat. He says his unique expertise in many areas distinguishes him from other candidates.
Keith said Espaillat represents the old guard and fresh ideas are needed to deal with the severe new challenges of housing affordability, new forms of income, and displacement in Harlem and uptown. “Everyone is hurting right now, whether you’re under the poverty line or just above the poverty line … and no one has been able to articulate to common people where their money is,” he said. “We think it will take an activist and an economist to have a national conversation about our incomes and our value and our equity.”
Keith’s campaign slogan is “We Owe Us,” which means that he believes the growing digital economy, connecting his experience in engineering and labor economics to affordability and equity, is the only way forward for regular New Yorkers, namely Black and Brown residents uptown.
“Because the economy has changed so drastically with tech, with AI, and it’s displaced so many people, we can’t afford to wait for you (Espaillat) to figure it out, educate up,” Keith said.
Keith previously ran in 2020, where he was unsuccessful but finished with almost 20,000 votes and 25% to Espaillat’s 59%, but won Black voters in Harlem. According to Keith, the loss can be chalked up to not having enough time to let voters know about him and his platform.
At the core of Keith’s desire to campaign is his love for New York and his Harlem community, and what he views as his duty to serve.
“There are no shiny objects that are gonna get me away from the sort of extreme marginalization and poverty that people I know and love are going through right now,” Keith said. “I don’t get to get out, I don’t get to run away … It’s my duty to ring the alarm and point to the problems that we have, and work with other people to design solutions for those problems.”
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