By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) held its 54th Annual Legislative Conference Sept. 24-28 in Washington, D.C. Throughout the event, national and local legislators and leaders warned of the challenges facing Black America and stressed the need to unify, support and inform one another.
Sessions on the second and third days of the conference featured discussions on attacks against Black history, Black economic power, redistricting efforts and community, culture and Congress.
Community, culture and Congress
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas-30) led a popular session on the third day of the conference on community, featuring a star-studded panel.
The packed session — which drew lines wrapped around the halls —highlighted that everyone plays a part in the fight for Black America’s protection and the need to combat disinformation.
“Every single position should be a position that serves the power of what it is that we’re trying to accomplish as a collective,” said Megan Good, an actress and model, emphasizing that everyone has a role to play in the fight to protect Black America no matter how big or small.
“There is always going to be someone who’s trying to make you pay for speaking up or for doing whatever it is that you feel that you need to do, but at the end of the day—just like with everything in life—what’s most important is that we’re serving God and that we’re serving each other and that we’re serving what is right,” said Good. “We have to be willing to put our career, our livelihood, whatever it may be, on the line.”
Crockett offered insight into what’s happening in the federal government and how Black America needs to respond.
“By just steamrolling and changing the rules to the game every single day and overwhelming you with so much information…they want people to sit out there and feel hopeless and helpless, and they want you to stay at home and just hope that this will pass you by,” said Crockett. “I am here to tell you that we are going to have to snatch our power back.”
Crockett said that Black Americans need to take their power back by educating themselves, making sure they have a trusted news source and not relying solely on social media for information.
Voting rights and redistricting
During the voting rights braintrust on day three of conference, panelists discussed concerns around current redistricting efforts from Republicans throughout the country and how they could shift voting power away from Black voters in the coming elections if successful.
Panelists warned that there is an active initiative to push out Congressional Black Caucus members from Missouri, Texas, Indiana, North Carolina and Louisiana using redistricting.
After the Shelby County v. Holder case in 2013 removed the Justice Department’s automatic oversight power regarding local voting laws, Section Two of the Voting Rights Act became the main way to fight discriminatory voting practices. But now, that tool to prevent discriminatory voting laws is also being targeted.
“We need to let them know that we are not going to surrender our voice, that we are citizens of this country and we deserve to be protected,” said LaShawn Warren.
Todd Cox, associate director of the Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, highlighted a planned rally on Oct. 15 outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., to protest the potential undoing of Section Two of the Voting Rights Act.
Leaders spoke on the importance of Black people voting in every election — local, state and national — not just one or the other.
“If you don’t vote, you’re dishonoring the legacy of people who sacrificed, gave their lives, so that we would have opportunities to participate in democracy that they did not,” said Eric Holder Jr., chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
Black history under attack
During the conference, U.S. Rep. Marc A. Veasey (D-Texas-33) led a session addressing how aspects of Black history are being altered and left off the record throughout the nation.
In honoring the legacy of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-female, majority-Black unit that served in World War II, Veasey stressed the need to fight back against any attempt to erase or alter Black history.
“Every one of you in this room is a historian,” said Sheila Williams, author of “No Better Time,” a book about the 6888th. “Every one of you has family and you have history that will become a story and a story that you can pass on. Sit down with your family, ask those questions, use social media and keep it moving forward, so that the generations after you will know what, who, where, why and how.”
Veasey noted that there will be no quick solution to this issue; it will take time.
“This is not going to be anything that we solve in the next two or three months,” said Veasey. “This is going to be an ongoing battle that is going to last throughout the duration of this administration.”
Black economic power
Angela Rye, a political commentator, and several other panelists throughout the conference highlighted the value and necessity of financial boycotts in the Black community.
“The Black dollar is just as important as the White dollar, because ultimately, it’s the green dollar,” said Rye. “We have to understand our power. We have to understand our worth. Everywhere we move, we have to understand our power, and that’s really what the theme of this conference is this year.”
Under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., the boycott is targeting Target and now Dollar General in protest of their swift decisions to end equity, diversity and inclusion efforts earlier this year.
During the Black Economic Power session, panelists delved into this matter more extensively, providing solutions for Black Americans in this fight.
Paula Campbell Roberts, managing director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts’ (KKR) Global Macro and Asset Allocation (GMAA) team, believes assets are critical for Black Americans moving forward. KKR is a global investment firm.
“I think the path for us has to be more of a focus on assets versus just on income, because that is what other communities use to grow and sustain generational wealth,” said Roberts.
At KKR, Roberts said they work to help alleviate this issue by providing access to retirement for pensioners. They also employ 300,000 individuals in the U.S. and provide access to credit, as well as private markets, at lower entries.
With the wealth of information and actionable steps provided at this year’s conference, leaders and legislators encouraged attendees to take it home, educate their neighbors, inspire one another and remain united.