Newswire: Kenyan troops sign pact to fight gang violence in Haiti backed by U. S. funding

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Kenyan Troops

Oct. 2, 2023 (GIN) – After months of fruitless efforts to control spiraling gang violence in Haiti, a framework for defense cooperation has been signed by the United States and Kenya aimed at creating a multinational force to quash the violence that has brutally taken so many lives.
 
Such a deployment had been stalled for months because no country would agree to lead such a perilous mission.
 
This week, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Kenya’s Defense Minister Aden Duale signed the accord authored by the U.S. and Ecuador at a meeting in Nairobi that will guide the countries defense relations for the next five years.
 
They are expected to be working behind the scenes to build support for the plan among the Security Council’s 15 members and in the wider international community.
 
Washington will supply “robust financial and logistical assistance” in the amount of $100 million to the proposed deployment.
 
“Signing the framework for defense cooperation between our two countries today reinforces the importance of our strategic partnership with Kenya,” Austin said following the meeting.
 
On Monday, Duale said his country was ready to deploy to Haiti and cited Kenya’s “very long history of global peacekeeping” in Kosovo, neighboring Somalia and Congo.
 
For now, Kenya is expected to be the largest contributor with 1,000 police officers and troops. At least a dozen nations have now come forward to help tackle the gang violence engulfing the country.
 
Besides The Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, at least a dozen nations offering to join the effort to fight gang violence. Others countries stepping up are Italy, Spain, Mongolia, Senegal, Belize, Suriname, Guatemala and Peru.
 
Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols was surprised at the numerous offers of support coming from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. “People were saying, ‘Hey, we’re in, we’re going to support; we are going to provide troops, we’re going to provide police, we’re going to provide money,’ ” he recalled.
 
Haitian Americans and Haitians at home, however, are split on whether a Kenya-led intervention is a good idea, said Macollvie Neel, executive editor of Brooklyn-based Haitian Times, speaking with the online publication Semafor.
 
Many in the diaspora remember the sexual abuse and devastating cholera outbreak that accompanied foreign forces in past decades but they also said ongoing bloodshed in their country leaves them with few other options. 
 
Also, perhaps worrying, the international force would not be a UN force, so if deployed, Kenyan police would be in charge rather than answer to a UN force commander as they would be required to do in a UN peacekeeping mission.
 
Still, cellphone repairman Jerthro Antoine, speaking to Al Jazeera news, said Kenya’s police can’t come soon enough. He said he dreams of strolling along one of Haiti’s beaches but the violence has gotten so bad that even walking on the street is a risk.
 
“I feel trapped in my home. Any foreign force in support of Haitian police is more than welcome,” Antoine said. “The Haitian people need it, we need a break and to have a life again.”
 
The mission is awaiting the U.N. Security Council’s formal approval to go forward but has already received support from the U.N. and U.S.
 

Newswire: Twenty-Seven years later: suspect arrested in murder of Tupac Shakur 

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Tupac Shakur

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

Twenty-seven years after the death of one of the most noted rappers in history of the genre, a man has been arrested for the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.
As the years have gone by some suspects have come into the news while others have passed away. On September 29, 2023, a man named Duane Keith Davis was arrested in Las Vegas and charged in connection with the murder of Shakur.
The rapper and actor was killed on September 13, 1996 in Las Vegas, at the age of 25, after being shot four times. He died less than a week later at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. Since then, Shakur’s death has lingered on as a mystery that has never been brought to a conclusion.
Davis is a member of the California-based gang known as The South Side Compton Crips and was a childhood friend of N.W.A. member Eazy-E. During the early ’90s, Davis built a friendly relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Rumors that someone would be charged in Shakur’s death have swirled for years with no arrests made.
Tupac’s life was short but marked by artistic achievement in music and acting. His family moved to Baltimore and he attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. In the late 1980s, Tupac moved to California, where he joined the hip-hop group Digital Underground as a backup dancer and rapper. He gained recognition for his skills and charisma on stage.
In addition to his storied music career, Shakur pursued acting and appeared in films such as “Juice” (1992), “Poetic Justice” (1993), “Above the Rim” (1994), and “Gridlock’d” (1997). He received praise for his acting talent.
Tupac Shakur was born in East Harlem to Afeni Shakur, a former Black Panther, and Billy Garland. He was given the name Lesane Parish Crooks at birth but later changed it to Tupac Amaru Shakur after he was inspired by the 18th-century Peruvian revolutionary Túpac Amaru II.

Newswire: Claudine Gay assumes historic role as Harvard University’s first Black President

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Claudine Gay

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


Harvard University now has its first Black president, Claudine Gay, who already has made her mark in the institution’s history. Gay also stands as only the second woman to helm the university since its founding in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
During her inaugural address, Gay articulated her vision for the Ivy League institution, acknowledging the weight and honor of this groundbreaking appointment. “I stand before you today humbled by the prospect of leading Harvard,” remarked Gay amidst a rainy inauguration ceremony last Friday.
“Emboldened by the trust you have placed in me and energized by your own commitment to this singular institution and to the common cause of higher education.” The new president went on to emphasize Harvard’s historical role as an agent of change, stating, “The courage of this University — our resolve, against all odds — to question the world as it is and imagine and make a better one: It is what Harvard was made to do,” she exclaimed.
Harvard Corporation, the university’s main governing body, chose Gay after an extensive search process. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, who attended Harvard, praised Gay’s presidency in a speech. She called it a “truly historic” moment and expressed her admiration and support.
Gay earned her Ph.D. in government from Harvard in 1998 and joined the faculty in 2006. She previously held the distinguished position of Edgerley Family Dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and is recognized as an expert in political behavior. She also serves as the founding chair of the Inequality in America Initiative which was launched in 2017 to examine social and economic inequalities.

Outgoing president Lawrence Bacow characterized her as “a person of bedrock integrity,” according to CNN. Bacow also expressed confidence in Gay’s “moral compass,” which he said remains essential for guiding the prestigious university. He praised the search committee for choosing Gay and predicted a bright future under her leadership.

Newswire : California Governor Gavin Newsom names Laphonza Butler to U. S. Senate

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By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

Laphonza Butler will fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Dianne Feinstein. The groundbreaking Senator died on September 29.
Newsom’s decision was not on the political radar screen of most prognosticators. He placed no requirement on the appointment to preclude Butler from running for the seat at the end of the term.
With the selection of Butler, the decision of California’s Governor will not include any of the currently announced candidates for U.S. Senate in 2024 in California. Those current candidates include veteran members of Congress Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.
“As we mourn the enormous loss of Senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for — reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence — have never been under greater assault. Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington, D.C.,” wrote Gov. Newsom in a statement released on the evening of October 1 announcing Butler’s appointment.
Butler was sworn-in to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, by Vice President Kamala Harris, who previously served as a Senator from the state of California.
Butler has been serving as the President of EMILY’s List. The fundraising platform supports and funds women candidates and amplifies issues that disproportionately impact women. EMILY’s List was founded in 1985 by Ellen Malcolm and founding members Barbara Boxer, Ann Richards, Anne Wexler, and Donna Shalala. From 1985 through 2008, EMILY’s List raised over $240 million for political candidates.
The move by Newsom could assist him if he should run for higher office in 2024 or 2028. Newsom has been rumored to be on a short list of Democratic candidates who could run for President if for some reason Biden or Harris are not options. But Newsom was recently asked about running for President and switched topics to the policies that he believed the party should be focused on.
Laphonza Butler will be yet another addition to the Congressional Black Caucus which is now on the brink of having 60 members for the first time in history. Though the current membership of the Congressional Black Caucus is 58, one more Black member is all but certain to enter Congress in Rhode Island after the resignation in May of Congressman David Cicilline. Former Biden White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Deputy Director Gabe Amo won the Democratic nomination for Cicilline’s seat. The election is on November 7.
Butler will be the only Black woman in the Senate. But Delaware Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester is expected to win the Senate seat vacated by Senator Tom Carper. Carper announced he would not run for re-election in 2024 and Rochester announced shortly afterwards that she would run for Carper’s seat.
“Throughout her career, Laphonza Butler has been a strong voice for working families, LGBTQ rights, and a champion for increasing women’s representation in politics. I’m honored to welcome her to the United States Senate. Governor Newsom’s swift action ensures that Californians maintain full representation in the Senate as we navigate a narrow Democratic majority. I look forward to working together to deliver for the people of California,” wrote California U.S. Senator Alex Padilla in a statement.
Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the publisher of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

Newswire : Alabama gets one step closer to Congressional map changes and two majority-Black voting districts

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By Bilal G. Morris, NewsOne
Alabama residents are one step closer to finally getting two majority-Black voting Congressional districts, something Republicans have fought against for decades.
According to AP, this week, a three-judge panel will likely approve new congressional districts in the state after the Supreme Court allowed the drawing of a new congressional map in the state, which would give greater representation to Black voters.
The court is expected to hear details on three proposed plans for new congressional maps, which were created by Richard Allen, a court-appointed special master, to be used in the 2024 elections.  Each proposal under discussion will create a second district with majority-Black voters.
The Alabama attorney general’s office has said they reject all three proposals, but last week justices rejected the state’s emergency request to keep Republican-drawn lines, which was also rejected by a lower court over the summer.
In June, a three-judge panel ruled that the state’s plan with one majority-Black district out of seven violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act.
Last week, an Alabama court-appointed special master submitted proposals for congressional districts that would create greater representation for Black voters.
According to AP, court-appointed special master Richard Allen wrote and submitted three proposals that would create a second majority-Black district in Alabama. The proposals follow the court’s direct instruction to give Black voters in the state an ample opportunity to elect a candidate who represents them, something Alabama Republicans, in the Legislature failed to do numerous times over the summer.
The proposals specifically plan to change the boundaries of Congressional District 2, giving Black voters between 48.5% to 50.1% of the voting-age population. The GOP redistricting plan only raised the Black voting-age population to 39.9%, which did not give Black voters anything close to a majority.
“The proposals show a serious consideration of the need to remedy the violation found by the court,” said Kareem Crayton, a redistricting expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
“There will be more to review as we get access to the block files supporting these recommended maps, but what’s clear is that the Special Master did what the state had to date simply refused to do: take the directives of the local court seriously. Each proposal appears to create two districts that are either majority Black or close to it.”
Allen, who is a former chief deputy for several previous Republican Alabama attorney generals, said his proposals were not drawn based on race, but rather give Black voters “an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.”
“A performance analysis in this case should demonstrate that the Black-preferred candidate often would win an election in the subject district,” Allen wrote.
In July, Alabama Republicans rejected instructions from the U.S. Supreme Court to redraw congressional districts and create a second majority-Black district in the state.
Instead, Alabama lawmakers proposed a redistricting map that would barely increase the percentage of Black voters in the 2nd Congressional District, testing the court’s directive of creating an entirely new district.
The instruction the panel of judges gave Alabama legislators was simple: Create a second Black congressional district “or an additional district in which Black voters otherwise have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.” Instead, Republicans in Alabama, which has seven congressional districts in all, maintained the Black district it already had and increased the number of Black voters in another district from 30% to 40%.
In September, federal judges blocked the republican lawmakers’ proposed map, opting to draft its own using a court-appointed special master.
“We are not aware of any other case in which a state legislature—faced with a federal court order declaring that its electoral plan unlawfully dilutes minority votes and requiring a plan that provides an additional opportunity district—responded with a plan that the state concedes does not provide that district,” the judges wrote. “The law requires the creation of an additional district that affords Black Alabamians, like everyone else, a fair and reasonable opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. The 2023 Plan plainly fails to do so.”

Eutaw City Council meeting devoted to disagreement over Class Day after-party

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By: John Zippert, Co-Publisher

The Eutaw City Council held a Special Meeting at Noon on Thursday, September 21, 2023. Much of the meeting, including a 38-minute executive session, was devoted to a discussion of the actions of Mayor Latasha Johnson and the Eutaw Police Department in closing down an after-party held by the Dangerous Divas Social and Savings Club, after Class Day on Saturday September 16th, at the Robert H. Young Community Center, formerly known as Carver School.

The meeting was packed with members of the Dangerous Divas and their supporters, many of whom had attended Class Day and the beginnings of the afterparty.

The Dangerous Divas, a social and savings club with a membership of 13 local young women, had secured a contract for the use of the field behind Carver School for outdoor activities during the day, like bar-be-ques, and the use of the gymnasium for the after-party that night. The contract does not allow for the sale and serving of alcoholic beverages unless a special permit is secured from the state ABC Board.

Kelvia Hunter, President of the Dangerous Divas, in a telephone interview said, “We were never told about needing a special permit to serve alcohol. If we knew this, we would have gotten the proper permits.” Hunter did say that alcohol was served at the party, that there was a ten-dollar admission fee to the after-party, which entitled the attendee to free drinks. She also indicated that there were off-duty police security at the door, who were instructed to deny admission to anyone under the 21-year drinking age in Alabama.

Hunter asserted, “The Mayor knew we were serving alcohol, because we have had six prior events at the same place, under the same rules, without an ABC permit. We also put out on social media our admission charge and that drinks were included. The mayor knew what was happening, but she still stopped our after-party without giving us any explanation.”

Mayor Johnson said, “I ended the party because liquor was being served. I saw children and others under the age of 21 attending the party. They invited the high school graduating classes of 2022 and 2023, who are all below the drinking age. We also had four ambulance runs for people who got sick at the field program and a police report of an altercation between young men, who had guns. This situation was just too dangerous, and our police force was undermanned for the large crowd. We just had to stop the party before it got out of hand and endangered the people there and others in our city.”

Mayor Johnson said, “The City dropped the ball, we should have more clearly explained the rental contract and rules for the sale and serving of alcohol. We accept some of the responsibility for the problems at this event, but we feel the Dangerous Divas must also take responsibility for their mistakes connected to this event. We must learn from this for future events to be hosted at the city owned community center.”

At the City Council meeting, when the issue came up, a resolution was adopted to return the $1,150 contract fee to the Dangerous Divas, due to the misunderstandings concerning the event. Ms. Kelvia Hunter said, “ Our organization lost much more than the contract fee and we want to be reimbursed for all of our losses.”

In other actions, the Eutaw City Council:

• Approved participation in the 2024 Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday, February 23-25, 2024.
• Received financial reports from Financial Consultant, Ralph Liverman, concerning USDA water system accounts at Citizens Trust Bank.
• Tabled action on lending the city’s street sweep to Aliceville for a day to clean the streets prior to an event.
• Approved travel for staff to attend the APCO Conference at Perdido Beach on November 15-18, 2023.
• Moved several items dealing with City vehicles, credit cards, rental agreements for use of the Robert H. Young Community Center and other matters to a Council Work Session to be held in October.
• Approved payment of bills for September.

USDA extends application deadline for Discrimination Financial Assistance Program to January 13, 2024

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 22, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is extending the deadline for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program to January 13, 2024, to give eligible farmers, ranchers and forest landowners more time to apply for assistance. The original deadline was October 31, 2023.
This deadline extension is responsive to feedback from potential applicants, nongovernmental program administrators and community-based organizations working closely with USDA to inform and assist eligible individuals. The new deadline will allow more time to reach and help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners through direct, no-cost technical assistance and training sessions. The extension will also ensure everyone has adequate time to apply, including producers whose harvest season falls during the original application period.
“USDA knows it must earn the trust of the farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who are eligible for this program. That makes transparency in the administration of the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program crucial,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “In that spirit, after receiving feedback from organizations that have been supporting producers throughout the application process, we have made the decision to extend the deadline. We believe this is the appropriate action to take to ensure all eligible individuals wishing to apply are adequately informed about the program and have the opportunity to receive any necessary assistance.”
Cornelius Blanding, Executive Director of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF , a cooperator organization that has been assisting with outreach and technical assistance on DFAP applications, said “ We are pleased that USDA has extended the deadline to January 13, 2024. This will give us a chance to reach the hundreds of farmers who have contacted our offices across the South seeking assistance in filling out their DFAP applications. We will be able to devote time to planning and preparing quality applications for each farmer instead of rushing to meet the October deadline.”
This program delivers on Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides financial assistance for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. Congress provided a total of $2.2 billion for this program. The amount of money awarded to individuals through this program will depend on the number of eligible applicants and the consequences of the discrimination. Eligible individuals have the option to apply online or by submitting paper-based forms via mail or in-person delivery to local program offices. Applicants are not required to retain an attorney and should take precautions to protect themselves from potential scams.
In addition to the application deadline change, the deadline to request records from USDA’s Farm Service Agency for use in applications has been extended to Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. The application process was designed so that FSA records are not required, though relevant records may be attached to an application as additional evidence if they are available.
To learn more about the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program or receive assistance in English or Spanish, visit www.22007apply.gov, email info@22007apply.gov or contact the national call center at 1-800-721-0970 from 8 a.m. ET to 8 p.m. PT, every day except federal holidays. If you use sign language to communicate, you can use the 711 relay service to call. You may also email or contact the national call center if you have a disability and need another accommodation. Information about the program, resources, recent office openings and local events across the country is also available through a weekly e-newsletter.
Persons interested in contacting the Federation of Southern Cooperatives for technical assistance in filling out applications may call : 1-888-533-3271 or contact: 22007dfap@federation.coop to schedule an appointment for technical assistance in the application process.

Newswire : African leaders show new militancy amid growing environmental crises

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President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana addresses UN General Assembly

Sep. 25, 2023 (GIN) – “We must make up for time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”
 
That was Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the U.N. speaking to world leaders at a General Assembly symposium at United Nations headquarters this month.
 
The world still has the capacity to course correct if only global leaders would take action and support developing countries in addressing the crises, he added.
 
“Our focus here is on climate solutions – and our task is urgent. Humanity has opened the gates of hell,” Guterres said. “If nothing changes we are heading towards a 2.8 degrees temperature rise towards a dangerous and unstable world.
 
Meanwhile, in speeches before the U.N., African leaders presented a new and militant message: The continent is done being a victim of a post-World War II order. It is a global power and must be partnered with — not sidelined. 
 
“We as Africa have come to the world, not to ask for alms, charity or handouts, but to work with the rest of the global community and give every human being in this world a decent chance of security and prosperity,” Kenyan President William Ruto was reported to say by the Associated Press. 
 
He urged countries in the Global South to pool together their trillions of dollars in collective resources to independently finance climate initiatives.
 
Neither Africa nor the developing world stands in need of charity from developed countries,” he said, proposing a universal tax on the sale of fossil fuels.
 
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo blamed Africa’s present-day challenges on “historical injustices” and called for reparations for the slave trade. 
 
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa said the continent is poised to “regain its position as a site of human progress” despite dealing with a “legacy of exploitation and subjugation.”
 
“Africa is nothing less than the key to the world’s future,” said Nigerian leader Bola Tinubu, who leads a country that, by 2050, is forecast to become the third most populous in the world.
 
With the largest bloc of countries at the United Nations, it is understandable that African leaders increasingly demand a bigger voice in multilateral institutions, said Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa at the Crisis Group. “Those calls will grow especially at a time when the continent is being courted by big powers amid growing geopolitical competition.”
 
“Africa has no need for partnerships based on official development aid that is politically oriented and tantamount to organized charity,” President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said. “Trickling subsidies filtered by the selfish interests of donors will certainly not allow for a real and effective rise of our continent.”
 
Tshisekedi’s country has the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and is also one of the largest producers of copper, both critical for clean energy transition.
 
What Africa needs instead, according to Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, is a more inclusive global financial system where Africans can participate as “a partner that has (a) lot to offer to the world and not only a warehouse that supplies cheap commodities to countries or international multinational corporations.”
 

Newswire : Remembering Hollis Watkins, Veteran of Mississippi Civil Rights Movement ,who died at 82 last week

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Hollis Watkins Muhammed

Bio compiled by Mississippi Department of Archives and History

A native of Mississippi, Hollis Watkins, was born in 1941 and grew up on a small farm in Chisholm Mission and became one of the first young Mississippians to commit to full-time work with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Watkins also served as founder and president of the Pike County Nonviolent Direct Action 
Committee,

He was a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and a county organizer in the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project.
Inspired by civil rights leader Bob Moses, Watkins began organizing local voter registration drives within the Pike County community. He organized one of the first sit-ins in McComb at a Woolworth’s lunch counter with fellow activist Curtis Hayes and was arrested and jailed multiple times for participating in various demonstrations.
Watkins was known for his use of freedom songs as an inspiration to encourage others to join the movement. He traveled across the state and worked on voter registration campaigns with other civil rights leaders such as Vernon  Dahmer. Watkins was also involved in the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party that challenged the state’s 
all-white delegation at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“Hollis Watkins dedicated his entire life to improving the lives of Black Mississippians,” said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums. “He was heavily involved in the creation of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, lending his voice to the museum’s central gallery. Museum staff are disheartened to learn of his death, but
 his legacy continues to inspire us.”

In 1989, Watkins co-founded Southern Echo, a community organization which works to develop leaders and empower local residents in support of the welfare of African American communities throughout Mississippi. He also served as chair of the Veteran of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. Watkins was honored with a Fannie 
Lou Hamer Humanitarian Award from Jackson State University in 2011 and received an honorary doctorate from Tougaloo College in 2015.
Watkins died on September 20, 2023, at the age of 82.

Newswire: Annual Congressional Black Caucus conference concludes with power remarks from Biden and Harris

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 Vice President Kamala Harris

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference concluded with resounding calls to action by Black lawmakers and their unwavering commitment to uphold democratic values and advance the rights of Black Americans.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris paid tribute to the dedication of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) in their pursuit of progress and equality.
“I chose to run because silence is complicit, and I would not be silent,” Biden said in an impassioned address at the Phoenix Awards, hoping to underscore the urgency of the moment. “Democracy was at stake in 2020, and thank God, because of you, we won,” Biden said.
However, the president also issued a sobering reminder that the threat to democracy persists. “I wish I can say the threat to our democracy ended with our victory in 2020, but it didn’t. Our democracy is still at stake, don’t kid yourself,” Biden insisted.
Vice President Harris, herself a former CBC member, lauded the Caucus as the nation’s moral compass, emphasizing their role as truth-tellers about the past and advocates for the future. “Across America, there is a full-on attack on many of the hard-fought, hard-won freedoms that the CBC has achieved,” Harris asserted.
The evening also celebrated leaders and trailblazers who have dedicated themselves to advancing the cause of Black communities. The 2023 Phoenix Awards recognized individuals whose work is creating opportunities for the next generation:
• White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre received the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference Honorary Co-Chairs’ Award.
• Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass was honored with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Chair’s Award.
• House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) received the Congressional Black Caucus’s Body Award.
• Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D-TN-52) was presented with the Congressional Black Caucus Chair’s Award.
• MC Lyte and LL Cool J were bestowed with the 2023 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Culture Icon Award.
The conference featured insightful panels and discussions addressing critical issues facing Black communities throughout the week. Notable sessions included a press conference hosted by the Hip Hop Caucus, calling for continued activism around issues of policing and overpolicing.
Additionally, a panel led by CBC Chair Rep. Steven Horsford and Small Business Association Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman highlighted the significant increase in SBA-backed loans going to Black-owned businesses under the Biden-Harris Administration.
Other sessions delved into critical topics such as advancing equity in infrastructure access, protecting voting rights, and celebrating arts and foreign affairs achievements. A panel discussion on the battle for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the face of growing opposition was of particular significance.
The conference also addressed critical issues such as transportation and the impact of innovations on Black communities. A panel on artificial intelligence delved into leveraging the potential of AI while mitigating risks and ensuring that Black voices are amplified in discussions surrounding emerging technologies.
With the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action and challenges to DEI initiatives, this year’s ALC took on added importance, said Nicole Austin-Hillery, President and CEO of CBCF. “It is vital that we all engage…to fortify our democracy, protect fundamental freedoms, and celebrate the richness and vibrancy of our cultural heritage” as the nation looks ahead to a pivotal 2024 presidential election,” Austin-Hillery asserted.