Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Tenth District Congressman Donald Payne will be hosting four forums during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 39th Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., which will be held from September 23rd to the 26th.  The Congressman is encouraging attendance at these events:

Thursday, September 24 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, N.W., Washington, D.C. in Room 143 (A); Issue Forum: Unheard Voices In Latin America: The Plight Of Afro-Latinos.  There are an estimated 150 million African descendants in Latin America. The vibrant culture and traditions of African descendents - also known as "Afro-Latinos" - can be found throughout the hemisphere. In the region, Afro-Latinos are among the most marginalized groups, confronted with a myriad of challenges, including discrimination, economic exclusion, and social development opportunities.  This forum will address the challenges faced by this marginalized group. Panelists will include academic experts, civil society leaders, development specialists, and cultural connoisseurs: Dr. Eva T. Thorne, Meyer and W. Walter Jaffe Assistant Professor of Politics at Brandies University; who will serve as moderator; Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, Co-director of the Global Afro Latino & Caribbean Initiative; Dr. Shelton Davis, Consultant formerly of the World Bank; Mr. Gilberto Amaya, Central American Black Organization (CABO, ONECA); Dr. Juliet Hooker, Associate Professor of Government and African and African-American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin; and Mr. Leonardo Reales Jimenez, Afro-Colombian National Movement CIMARRON/Consultant for Creador Pictures in Bogota, Columbia.

Thursday, September 24 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, N.W., Washington , D.C. in Room 144(A); Education Brain Trust: Ensuring the Academic Success of Black Youth: Early Childhood and High School Graduation Initiatives. The Education Braintrust will focus on initiatives to improve early childhood education and high school graduation for African American children and youth.  To strengthen school readiness, experts will address efforts to improve access to high quality child care and early education programs.  To increase college and career readiness, experts will address a variety of high school reform efforts, including increasing graduation rates and strengthening teacher and principal effectiveness. Each speaker will give an overview of the problem and discuss disparities that exist particular to the Black community as well as legislative efforts to address the problem. Presentations on the first panel, Improving Early Childhood Education, will be given by: Roberto Rodriguez from the White House, to discuss the Administration's priorities in the areas of early childhood initiatives; Dr. Sonya Anderson, National Director of The First Five Years Fund; Gordon MacInnes, The Century Foundation Equality and Education Project in New Jersey; and David Johns, Senate HELP Committee.

The second panel, Improving High School Graduation Initiatives, will include James Shelton, Department of Education; Bob Balfanz, Hopkins Center for Social Organization of Schools;  Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers;  Sheila Simmons, National Education Association; and  Dr. Danita Bailey-Perry, Texas Southern University, 2009 Recipient of the Texas Alliance of Black School Educator's Award.

Friday, September 25th  from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, N.W., Washington, D.C., Room 207 (B); Foreign Affairs Brain Trust:  Africa in the Age of Obama: U.S. Policy, Democratization, Conflict Resolution, and Weathering the Economic Storm.  This discussion will focus on the direction the continent is headed amid a tumultuous global economic and security situation which coincides with President Obama's first year in office.  The discussion will include an assessment of the Obama Administration's policies toward African nations following the President's official visit to Ghana in July and Secretary Clinton's seven-country tour in August, on which I accompanied her, which demonstrates a commitment to strengthening relations with African democracies.  Other issues to be discussed will be Africa's economic outlook and progress towards resolving conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Uganda, and elsewhere. Speakers will include the new Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Director Johnnetta Cole, African telecommunications mogul Mo Ibrahim, African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka, Africa Society President and C.E.O. Bernadette Paolo, United Nations Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide Francis Deng, and others.

Friday, September 25, from 3 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, N.W., Washington, D.C., Room 209 (A); Issue Forum: Removing Roadblocks to Teaching and Preserving African American History. This session will be a tutorial with the New Jersey Amistad Commission web-based curriculum, designed as the first K-12 Social Studies curriculum adoption in the country that details African American influence, history, and accomplishments within all public schools. According to the auspices of the Amistad Commission legislation passed in 2002, the Commission has been charged with ensuring that African American's history, contributions and experiences are intrinsically taught in the state's classroom on a daily basis and fully infused and intertwined throughout all classroom lessons, primary sources, testing, and presentations. This session will introduce the web-based curriculum as a method for the demolishing of any roadblocks in teaching a true reflection of our nation's history inclusive of African American content. Panelists include William D. Payne, Commissioner,  New JerseyAmistad Commission;  Stephanie James Wilson, Executive Director, New Jersey Amistad Commission;  Yohuru Rasheed Williams Ph.D, Vice President for History Education, American Institute for History Education; Colin Palmer, Ph.D, Co-Chair of Amistad Commission Curriculum Committee; Lille Johnson Edwards, Ph.D, Professor of History and African-American Studies Director, Pan-African Studies Director, American Studies at Drew University, Co-Chair of the Amistad Commission Curriculum Committee;  Ruth Love,  Ph. D, Professor, Graduate School of Education,  University of California – Berkeley.

More information about the conference is available at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's website at http://www.cbcfinc.org/.