“If Democracy Falls, So Do We” Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Conference Returns After COVID-19 Pause
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) returned with its Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) last week in Washington D.C. It was the first in-person ALC since the COVID-19 pandemic led the non-profit to conduct virtual conferences in the past two years.
Thousands attended this year’s gathering, themed “Advancing Our Purpose. Elevating Our Power,” with appearances from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris; panels on advancing healthy equity, Black homeownership, and mental health; and the annual Phoenix Awards Dinner co-hosted by Meagan Good and Omari Hardwick, with a performance by Gladys Knight.
CBCF calls the Annual Legislative Conference “the leading policy conference on issues impacting African Americans and the global Black community.”
Among the programs at this year’s ALC was the 14th Annual Black Women’s Roundtable Policy Forum: “Leveraging the Power of Black Women’s Leadership In The Fight For Our Rights, Freedoms, Safety, Justice & Democracy.”
Hosted by the Black Women’s Roundtable and moderated by April Ryan, the session addressed how Black women drive Black political power and discussed findings from this year’s BWR/ESSENCE Power of the Sister Vote Poll, which measures Black women’s perspectives on policies that affect us.
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“If the democracy falls, so do we as a people,” BWR President & CEO Melanie Campbell said in remarks to open the panel, which featured over two dozen Black women shaping U.S. policy. “We helped build this country, we helped mold this country. And we know that…we’re shifting to something that looks like states’ rights as opposed to an ability for us as a people who’ve always had the federal government to really protect our rights and freedoms… However we shake it, we know this election is historically one that we must be fully prepared for.”
At the ALC National Town Hall, the ALC recognized the 50-year anniversary of the Gary, Indiana National Black Political Convention with a conversation on the Black agenda.
“Fifty years ago,” the CBCF stated, “10,000 Black changemakers met for the National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. Black communities from across the country gathered to forge systemic change and transform their social and economic standing in the United States. The [Gary] convention focused on methods of electing more Black politicians, increasing representation, and crafting a uniform Black Agenda.”
The 2022 town hall intended to carry on that tradition, exploring “the journey to Black political progress, lessons learned, and strategic partnerships to advance Black liberation.” Panelists included legendary actress Jenifer Lewis, Rep. Terri Sewell, and Color of Change president Rashad Robinson.
As reported by the Maryland-based Afro News, Lewis opened up about her growing activism. “I have moved into activism because I do not want my great nephews to grow up and be hunted as men,” she said. “I want these kids to pursue happiness– there is too much depression, mania and violence.”
Robinson also discussed the country’s structural issues: “We have to confront [America’s] refusal to acknowledge what has been done, and what our country continues to do. America has become monstrous in so many ways.”
Photos courtesy of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF)
