You may have seen stories lately questioning the usefulness of Black History Month (click here, here and here) and pondering the relevancy of organizations like the Congressional Black Caucus.
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a challenge to the Voting Rights Act and millions of people — disproportionately minority — face losing their homes to foreclosure, the caucus says it can make the case that it is needed more now than ever.
“The Congressional Black Caucus is as relevant today as it was when it was first organized back in 1971,” Rep. Barbara Lee , the new chairwoman of the caucus, said recently.
“What we have to determine now is how to move our people and make them a part of the democratic process as President-elect Obama called for during the campaign.”
Obama’s election, Lee said, “provides us a unique opportunity to enact legislation to fill the moral gaps in our society. We have to be bold in addressing the issues he has raised, from foreclosures and jobs to health care and education . . . . (and) confront the problems of poverty head-on.”
The black caucus has 43 members, including several who hold sway over plum committees in the House: founder John Conyers, D-Mich., chairs the House Judiciary Committee, while Charles B. Rangel , D-N.Y., heads one of the most powerful committees of all, Ways and Means.
Members of the CBC, as it’s known in these parts, also control 15 subcommittee chairmanships and just last month laid claim to perhaps one of its biggest victories to date when one of its own became the president of the United States.
The real question is whether the CBC will translate those leadership positions into policy successes.
Click here to read the rest... and leave a comment over there and over here if you want!
No comments:
Post a Comment