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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2017)
Page 6 The Skanner January 11, 2017 Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. By Freddie Allen (Man- aging Editor/NNPA Newswire) D uring the Ceremo- nial Swearing-In event a few blocks from The White House, the Congressio- nal Black Caucus Foun- dation, Inc., honored Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.), the new chair- man of the Congressio- nal Black Caucus (CBC) and members of the CBC that will serve during the 115th Congress. A. Shuanise Washing- ton, the president and CEO of the CBCF, said that 115th Congress will have the largest CBC in histo- ry with 49 members. “While the CBC grows in numbers, there re- mains a lack of diversi- ty and inclusion when it comes to senior staff placement in senate and congressional offices,” said Washington. “The CBCF is committed to do- ing its part to change the landscape of Capitol Hill and we’re doing so with one of our newest initia- tives: Emerge 535.” Launched in 2013, the Emerge 535 program will enable the CBCF to expand opportunities for young people of color by providing 535 schol- arships and fellowships to work on Capitol Hill. During her comments at the CBC ceremony, House Minority leader Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blasted Republican lawmakers for blocking President Barack Obama’s last Supreme Court justice nominee and efforts to pass an updated Voting Rights Act (VRA). Pelosi also noted the irony in the fact that some of the same Repub- licans, who attended the opening of the Nation- al Museum of African American History and Culture and the fiftieth anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Ala., refused to work with Democrats on Capitol Hill to restore the protec- tions of the VRA. “It’s not about Dem- ocrats, it’s not about Republicans, it’s about America,” said Pelosi. “The greatness of Amer- ica is affected by how [Republicans] have re- jected the ability of our president to appoint a [Supreme Court] justice, how they have rejected our calls for correcting the injustice of the Su- preme Court decision [in Shelby v. Holder]. It’s all about justice.” Pelosi called the CBC the “conscience of the Congress and indeed of the country,” and she added that it was exciting to see that some of the newest members of the CBC were representing districts who had never elected a Black lawmaker to serve in the U.S. Con- gress. The newest members of the CBC are: Senator Kamala Harris, who is California’s first African American senator; Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.); Rep. Lisa Blunt-Roch- ester (D-Del.), the first African American and woman to serve in Con- gress from Delaware; Rep. Anthony Brown (D- Md.); Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.) and Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.). After the ceremonial oath of office was per- formed, outgoing Chair- man G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) said that 2016 is now in our rearview mirror. “We find ourselves fac- FREDDIE ALLEN/AMG/NNPA The CBC Celebrates History with 49 Members in the 115th Congress Members of the Congressional Black Caucus participate in the Ceremonial Swearing-In event for the 115th Congress at The Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. ing a difficult, political and legislative environ- ment, unlike any that we have ever seen before, but I promise you that the CBC will rise to the occasion and we will meet these new challeng- es,” said Butterfield. “The consequences are too enormous for us to be indecisive and to allow conservative forces and forces of the alt-right to defend our nation. We will be strategic and we will be unified in our work.” While many of the CBC members are “baby boomers,” Butterfield said that there is no question that Richmond, who is a part of Genera- tion X, is well-suited and well-prepared to lead the CBC in confronting these new challenges. During his remarks at the ceremonial swear- ing-in event, Richmond said that CBC members represent 78 million Americans, 24 percent of the population and 17 million Blacks repre- senting 41 percent of the African American popu- lation in this country. “There are many Amer- icans, especially Black Americans, who can’t understand how we got hear today, coming off eight years of hope, pride and inspiration,” said Richmond. “They are fearful of the current state of division, hate and pettiness. Richmond continued: “Many of our young peo- ple are frustrated with the fact that they seem to be fighting the same caus- es that Dr. King and Rev- erend Jackson and John Lewis and many others galvanized the country behind during the Civil Rights Movement; and that’s jobs justice and common humanity.”
