June 2, 2013

Black Caucus Annual Legislative Weekend to Focus on ‘Individual Power’

A. Shuanise Washington, CBCF president/CEO

(TriceEdneyWire.com) –  “It starts with you.” That’s the theme of this year’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation  Annual Legislative Caucus (ALC), attempting to inspire people to innovation in the answers to their personal and community issues.

“Throughout the centuries, humankind has been able to identify one person - an individual - who made a difference, who changed the thinking, who made an innovative discovery that led to a seismic shift in how history was written,” said a release this week.  This year's ALC “hopes to have  the same impact on the thousands of individuals expected to attend the four-day conference.”

U. S. Reps. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) and Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.) will serve as honorary co-chairs of the annual four-day gathering of issues forums, brain trusts, glitzy parties and receptions to be held from Sept. 18-21 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C.

In addition to the issue forums, the annual Thursday morning national town hall meeting, the Saturday morning prayer breakfast and Saturday evening Phoenix Award dinner are also major highlights.  The town hall, themed "From Poverty to Prosperity: Confronting Violence, Restoring Opportunity, and Investing in our Youth" will address the impact of poverty, juvenile justice and gun violence, the release said.

“We encourage everyone, be they political figures, leaders in industry and non-profit organizations, celebrities eager to lend their voices to a cause, or citizens with a desire to obtain information to uplift their communities, to come together to exchange ideas and create solutions to the unique issues facing African Americans today,” said A. Shuanise Washington, president and chief executive officer for CBCF in a statement. “The goal of ALC is to find workable solutions to help stimulate our economy, end health disparities and improve education.”