Blackwelder was a signatory to the 1998 Statement of Principles of the New Century Alliance for Social Security — a coalition of groups opposed to Social Security privatization — organized by the Institute for America’s Future. Other signers includedHeather Booth, Nancy Duff Campbell, Marian Wright Edelman, Mike Farrell, Roger Hickey, Patricia Ireland, Jesse Jackson, Steven Kest, Norman Lear, Kweisi Mfume, Robert Reich, Susan Shaer, Eleanor Smeal, Andrew Stern, John Sweeney, and Raul Yzaguirre.