The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) this weekend plans to launch its "Summer of Action," in which caucus members will partner with local officials, community organizations, HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), civil rights groups, and members of Divine Nine organizations to identify key issues and increase voter turnout in 2024, reports The Hill.
The "Democracy for the People" event will kick off Saturday in Charleston, S.C. Target cities include Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Houston, and New Orleans.
The CBC's aim is for organizers to work on voter education and efforts to get young voters, Black men, and citizens who were previously incarcerated to the polls. The CBC also wants its fellows to be trained properly on how to mobilize and educate communities around many of the issues that have disproportionately affected Black Americans.
"This is not about advancing a political agenda," Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said Friday.
"This is about protecting our fundamental rights to vote for freedom of education in our schools, the denying of Black history — the banning of books, the elimination of Black civil rights leaders reflected in that history — and the other attempts by the Supreme Court and state actions now to undermine the efforts of Blackness."
The Summer of Action follows the CBC's National Summit on Democracy and Race, which discussed voting rights, the fight for equity ahead of the 2024 presidential election, and preserving Black history. The Summit was convened in light of upcoming Supreme Court cases that will decide the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act as applied to racial gerrymandering, and rule on the use of race in admissions decisions in both public and private institutions of higher education, respectively.
"What I believe and what we're finding is a lot of anti-Blackness rhetoric is now leading to direct attacks on the very existence and survival of Black people," Horsford said. "And we understand that that has a quelching impact for some on what does this mean for our democracy and their right to participate in it. That's why we're having these sessions."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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