U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, who serves as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s board chair, said caucus membership has grown from 13 to the current 60 members in Congress. (William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Buoyed by the prospect that one of their own could make history as the first woman elected president, the Congressional Black Caucus converged on the nation’s capital Wednesday for its annual conference of elected officials, allies and leaders in business, education and health care.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president less than three weeks ago, was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus while a U.S. senator representing California. On Tuesday night, she faced former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, for the first time in a debate, where he defended his disparaging remarks last month about her race. Harris is Black and Asian.
The election was top of mind at the conference, which runs Wednesday through Sunday, as attendees spoke of the energy and excitement over Harris’ chances.
“Just a few weeks ago, we witnessed history happening in this country when we saw the first African American woman get the nomination for one of the major party tickets to be president of the United States,” Nicole Austin-Hillery, president and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, told the attendees who clapped and cheered inside the exhibit hall of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. “We are a part of that history.”
Donna E. King, a vice president of the Foss Park District commissioners in North Chicago, Illinois, said Harris looked “presidential” during Tuesday’s debate.
“It touched my heart because I got to see an African American woman running for president …” said King, who served in the Army for two years, eight months and 28 days. “She prosecuted to the facts that this nation can’t have a 34-time convicted felon as our president. That’s unheard of. I’m sure that all of our forefathers are turning over in their graves.’’
Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Maryland, said Tuesday that Harris’ ascension raises the importance of the caucus, its work and influence.
“It gives it a significant boost and an increased level of importance as a result of Vice President Harris being the party nominee, and being so close to what we think is the opportunity to alter the course of history and to focus us on the future and take us away from this ongoing focus on the past,” Mfume said.
Mfume is among the 60 Black congressional lawmakers who make up the largest class in the caucus’ 53-year history. The Black Caucus represents a major voting bloc, comprising nearly a fourth of the U.S. House Democratic Caucus.
The caucus’ longtime mission has been to amplify Black voices and policies to improve Black communities. Last year, there were 13,000 conference participants. With more than 9,000 participants registered, this year’s goal is 15,000, according to the office of Black Caucus Chair Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nevada.
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Dozens of sessions have tackled issues and solutions in education, health, criminal justice and activism. Harris and President Joe Biden are slated to attend the conference’s Phoenix Awards Dinner on Saturday.
The conference’s theme is “From Vision to Victory: Amplifying Black Voices,” which Horsford said extends beyond Election Day on Nov. 5. A National Town Hall on Thursday will focus on protecting democracy and economic prosperity and wealth-building. The discussion will center around a report the caucus released Monday that includes recommendations for companies to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the workplace.
“That means victories for our people every single day around full economic participation and the opportunity to thrive economically and not just to survive,” Horsford said. “We recognize this is an ongoing work that is necessary for all of us to come together because democracy is a team sport.”
The caucus report calls on CEOs from Fortune 500 companies “to generate policies that create perpetual accountability for Corporate America, help close this massive gap of inequality, and support the values of our Caucus.”
“When we lift up Black America, we lift up everyone,” Horsford said.
Founded in 1971 with 13 members, the Congressional Black Caucus is an outgrowth of the Democracy Select Committee that brought together congressional representatives who often felt isolated. When Mfume took office in 1987, there were 17 members as he replaced one of its founders, former Rep. Parren Mitchell, the first African American from Maryland elected to Congress.
With Harris in the national spotlight, the conference has also focused on Black women in politics, with a discussion Friday hosted by Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio.
Panelist A’shanti Gholar, president of Emerge, a national organization that helps train and recruit Black women to run for elected office, said the conference allows for attendees to celebrate Harris’ Democratic nomination for president in person, which couldn’t be done four years ago, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emerge was founded in 2002 before Harris’ run for district attorney in San Francisco.
“This is a chance to really celebrate her and she’s on top of the ticket now,” Gholar said. “It’s just so powerful and inspiring. We finally get to give her her flowers that we weren’t able to do four years ago.”
For women seeking public office the obstacles are many.
“The reality for women is … that we cannot take the sexism, the racism, the misogyny out of politics. It is there,” Gholar said. “What we can do is make them competent on what it takes to run for office.”
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