ALC 2004: Defining the Moment and the Movement

ALC 2004: DEFINING THE MOMENT AND THE MOVEMENT

U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson

Washington, D.C. - The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) is holding its 34th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) September 8th through the 11th in Washington, D.C. The theme of the ALC is "Defining the Moment and the Movement."

The leadership of the CBCF selected this theme to highlight the fact that this year the nation is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education and the 40th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It is a clarion call to measure our progress in the struggle for rights and freedom and to evaluate our prospects for the future as a people.

Fifty years ago the highest court in the land ruled that the doctrine of "separate but equal" was unconstitutional. It was a watershed event in the nation's history and in the lives of African Americans, as well as all Americans. Back then, Jim Crow reigned. His sway extended to all aspects of life along the color line. In courthouses across the south they kept two Bibles: one for Whites to swear their oaths upon, and the other for Black witnesses.

When the Supreme Court handed down its decision, only two African Americans were serving in Congress at the time: William L. Dawson of Illinois and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. of New York.

A decade later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law. Despite President Johnson's legendary legislative acumen, the bill almost never became law that year. A filibuster stalled the bill for 75 days. It was a call to arms to the five African American Members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Joining Congressman Dawson and Congressman Powell in the fray for civil rights on the floor of the House were Charles C. Diggs, Jr. of Michigan, Robert N.C. Nix of Pennsylvania and Augustus F. Hawkins of California. Congress finally passed the landmark bill, declaring that discrimination based on race is illegal.

Six years after the Civil Rights Act became the law of the land, there were 13 African American Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. They formed the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). Realizing that there is strength in numbers and power in unity, they "joined together to strengthen their efforts to address the legislative concerns of Black and minority citizens."

Longtime Caucus Members remind us that it received its first national recognition when its Members met with former President Richard Nixon in March, 1971 and presented him a list of 60 recommendations for governmental action on domestic and foreign issues.

Sheer numbers represent political power. Today the Caucus boasts 39 members. That number is expected to grow after this fall's election. Since the founding of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1970, the nation has witnessed an extraordinary increase in the number of Black elected officials at all levels. The total has soared from 1,469 in 1970 to 9,101.

This represents a 519.5 percent increase. The south has the largest number of Black elected officials. In fact, 68.2 percent of all Black elected officials nationwide are from the south.

What's even more remarkable is the fact that 85 percent of the growth in the number of Black elected officials can be attributed to election of Black women to office.

Yet, the center of attention at this year's ALC will be the constituency that made all of this a reality: Black voters and citizens. The ALC features more than 50 braintrusts and issue forums on an array of topics, ranging from economic development and wealth-building to global and domestic security. The issue forum that I am hosting will focus on preparing our youth for careers of the future in the fields of science and technology.

An estimated 20,000 people will gather in Washington for the CBCF's four-day Annual Legislative Conference. Together, we will pledge to recommit ourselves to the promise of the two great acts of civil litigation that changed the direction of the nation and the destiny of the American people.