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Since its establishment in 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has been committed to using the full Constitutional power, statutory authority, and financial resources of the federal government to ensure that African Americans and other marginalized communities in the United States have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
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Readout of Congressional Black Caucus National Summit on Democracy and Race
Washington,
May 9, 2023
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Freedom Alexander Murphy
(202-702-0797)
On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, the Congressional Black Caucus convened the National Summit on Democracy and Race in Washington to bring together government leaders, scholars, activists, experts and thought leaders to develop messaging and organizing strategies to address the ongoing threats to our democracy and threats to our fundamental freedoms. The National Summit on Democracy & Race focused on the intersection of race and democracy, and offered leaders of the CBC the opportunity to draw input from a wide range of actors for possible legislative options that could be presented in the Congress, as well as recommendations on executive actions to present to President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland to fortify our democracy, prevent the erasure of Black history, and hold government actors and state legislatures accountable for suppressing our constitutional freedoms. The Summit was convened in light of upcoming Supreme Court cases, including Merrill v. Milligan and Students for Fair Admissions v. UNC and Harvard, that will decide the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act as applied to racial gerrymandering, and rule on the use of race in admissions decisions in both public and private institutions of higher education, respectively. Additionally, the Summit was held in response to many recent threats to our democracy including the expulsions of Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the GOP-led Tennessee State Legislature, as well as recent decisions by the conservative North Carolina Supreme Court to reverse rulings on illegal partisan gerrymandering, discriminatory voter ID laws, and voter restoration. Moreover, the Summit was convened amid the Supreme Court and ideologically-driven federal judges weakening our fundamental protections under the law, ongoing election denialism and partisan gerrymandering, charges against ‘wokeism’, whitewashing Black history by banning books. The Summit included sessions on the following topics:
Chairman Steven Horsford discussed with attendees the launch of the Summer of Action to Defend America that will take place in at least 10 cities around the country beginning in southern states including Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Florida, among others. During the Summer of Action to Defend America, CBC Members will work in partnership with city mayors, leaders of Divine 9 organizations, civil rights groups, and community organizers to hold messaging and mobilization events on democracy and race. CBC Members in attendance:
Principal guests in attendance:
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