CBCF HOSTS DISCUSSION ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, POLITICS AND VOTING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 13, 2012

CONTACT: Muriel Cooper (202) 263-2829 mcooper@cbcfinc.org

 

CBCF HOSTS DISCUSSION ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, POLITICS AND VOTING

Panel will Probe the Importance of the 2012 Elections for the Black Community

WASHINGTON, DC - The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), the Harvard Black Alumni Society and the Bethel Literary and Historic Society of Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Washington, DC, will present a panel on voting rights issues and the importance of the 2012 elections for African Americans. This candid discussion from 7:00 p.m. - 8:30p.m., on February 16 at Metropolitan A.M.E. Church, 1518 M Street, NW Washington, will give the public the opportunity to openly voice their concerns and offer their input as the nation prepares for the election cycle.

The Fierce Urgency of Now: Stand UP, Be Counted in 2012 will include the following participants:

• Spencer Overton, moderator, Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School
• Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama – panelist
• Ron Christie, Govote. Com Republican Political Strategist – panelist
• Ifeomasinachi “Ify” Ike, Esq, CBCF Fellow, U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary – panelist

“The title of the panel - the fierce urgency of now - is taken from a quote from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King 45 years ago and is still applicable today,” said Elsie L. Scott, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of CBCF. “We are in a political climate in which we receive messages from multiple platforms. Quite frankly, we should be a part of every conversation on all sides of the aisle – contributing our thoughts, concerns, skills and knowledge. This panel will give individuals a first of what we hope will be many opportunities to become civically engaged, to use their social, community and family networks to engage in many discussions,” she said.

CBCF, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501C-3 organization will once again have a presence at both the Republican and Democratic conventions this summer. In addition, the Foundation’s Leadership Institute for Public Service has prepared thousands of college and young adults for public service careers through its stellar internship and fellowship programs.

“Our mission is to have a world in which the black community is free of all disparities and able to contribute fully to advancing the common good,” said Dr. Scott. “We begin to prepare for that through our work by the exchanging of ideas, developing public servants and serving as an information broker.”

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc. was established in 1976 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit, public policy, research and education institute to help improve the socioeconomic circumstances of African Americans and other underserved communities.