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Mar 24, 2015
Black Women's Roundtable to Descend on Capitol Hill
Lynch Nomination, Voting Rights Also Focus of "Public Policy Education Day" Part of Black Women's Roundtable 4th Annual Women of Power National Summit
(Washington, DC- March 23, 2015 ) Hundreds of women and girls from several states, part of the Black Women's Roundtable (BWR), will take their concerns to Capitol Hill this week. Members of the BWR plan to meet with Republican and Democratic lawmakers to urge Congress to take action on issues including voting rights, income equality, ongoing support for the Affordable Health Care Act in the states, paid family leave, child nutrition, technology; gun safety and violence against women. The group also plans a push for the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as U.S. Attorney General. The Congressional visits are part of the "Invest, Inspire Unite " focus for the 4th Annual BWR National Summit on March 26 on Capitol Hill on March 27 – 28th at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
Melanie Campbell, convener of BWR and President & CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) says it's time Congress put away partisan politics and get down to doing the American peoples’ business. "As we celebrate Women's History Month it is important we ensure that the rights of women are addressed and not ignored” said Campbell. "Black women turned out in record numbers in 2014 and we want to remind our leaders to stop the partisan politics and pass legislation that creates good paying jobs with livable wages, increases small business opportunities for women, reduces gun violence in our communities, invests in our children's education, end hunger in our nation and expands affordable health care for All Americans.”
"Further we are dismayed that the full Senate has yet to act on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to become the nation's first African-American woman to serve as U.S. Attorney General," Campbell added. In addition to the Lynch nomination, BWR wants lawmakers to expand the Voting Rights Act. BWR member, Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Co-Chair, National African American Clergy Network states, "that after 50 years, we are still watching states impose restrictions to our fundamental right to fair involvement in the electoral process is unconscionable and immoral," Williams-Skinner said. BWR members will address key issues during the summit March 27th and 28th. BWR plans the release of its 2015 Report " Black Women in the U.S. & Key States" on March 26th as a follow-up to its ground-breaking 2014 report which has served as a foundation for much of the data which has been collected for and about the nation's black women and was showcased at last year's White House Conference on Children and Families The Black Women's Roundtable (BWR) serves as the women and girls empowerment arm of The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. BWR promotes health and wellness, economic security and sustainability, education and global empowerment. The National Coalition, founded in 1976, creates and enlightens communities by building institutional capacity that provides and develops leadership. By educating, motivating, organizing, and mobilizing Black communities, the National Coalition seeks to encourage full participation in a barrier-free democratic process. The National Coalition works to expand, strengthen, and empower communities to make voting and civic participation a cultural responsibility and tradition. .
Featured speakers for the three-day summit include: Teresa Younger, President & CEO of the Ms Foundation for Women, Latifa Lyles, director of the Department of Labor "Women's Bureau," American Urban Radio's White House Correspondent April Ryan, author of "The Presidency in Black and White," Tameka Montgomery, Associate Administrator, Office of Entrepreneurial Development, U. S. Small Business Administration and a host of national and state-based Black women leaders, policy makers and activists from around the country.
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