Congressional black caucus foundations annual legislative conference in washington, d. C. Good morning. We are about to get started. If you could take your seat, we would appreciate it. Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our 2023 National Town hall. This is the kick off session to get down to business for alc. I am Nicole Austen hillary and i have the privilege and honor of serving as the president and ceo of the Congressional Black Caucus foundation. I am happy to see all of you here this morning. It tells me that our theme this year of securing our democracy, protecting our freedoms, and uplifting our culture got through to everyone. You all are here to get down to business, so thank you. This is especially compelling year for us. We know that every year, we have challenges and work to do for the black community. But this year, because of deeply threatening times that we are in, we know that despite the fact this is the oldest democracy on the planet, we have some major challenges. Our Constitutional Republic has not been more at risk since the civil war. Which was 160 years ago. The attacks on our democracy are happening on all fronts, our freedoms at our culture, coming from a number of places in terms of the people who want to attack it and in fact want to hold us back. These attacks are grounded in, frankly, and i will be truthful, a racist view of america. And they all depend on misinformation and often downright deceit. As most of you know this summer, the Congressional Black Caucus and its members, along with the Congressional Black Caucus institute, hosted a series of town Hall Meetings and discussions to help mobilize and train over 10 cities across the nation, where they discussed the most pressing matters of concern to the black community and to deal with the issues of Racial Equity. And all kicked off when chairman horsford of the Congressional Black Caucus held a summit on democracy earlier in the year because he sent out a call to action that he said, we have got work to do. We have got to have serious discussions for these serious times and a town hall discussion to follow up from that. He said we were going to put words into action, and that is what was done. So today, we are going to take everything that was learned from those discussions, everything we heard from community members, and we are going to take it a step further with you all here with us today. This National Town hall is a culmination of democracy for the people, which is what those summer townhall series were concerned, and it is with partnership with the Congressional Black Caucus foundation that we seek to continue these conversations and the work. As i have been saying since yesterday when we started, everyone looks beautiful. I wish you could see what i see. You look beautiful, but not only is it necessary for you to look beautiful, it is important for you to take your smarts, your strategies, and put them into action. We are here to get down to business and walk away with a game plan. So we have an array of smart experts who are going to be talking to you today and talking with you and hearing from you. These are thought leaders from around the country, policymakers, stakeholder partners. Over the next couple of hours, and it will go fast, but bear with us. We are going to spend these next two hours with two separate panels and the leading intellectuals are going to talk to you and engage with you around these issues. The first panel is going to be about race and Racial Equity. I know that is a lot, but we will get down to it in that conversation. The second panel is about the threat to our democracy, and we know that is a lot of things. We are talking about the threat to voting, education, health disparities, affirmative action, all of these things we are dealing with right now. In addition to these two panels, we will hear from a number of special guests here with us to deliver some messages. These are outstanding black leaders who are taking it upon themselves to define and disarm these threats. It is not just about legislative leaders doing this work, not just about the foundation doing the work that we do around policy research and the work that you do. It is about all of us stepping up to the plate and using what we have in front of us. We all are changemakers, everyone in this room, and we all have an obligation, so it is about what each of us can do. Without further ado, to help set the stage for this critically important discussion, i would like to welcome to the stage the chairperson of our Congressional Black Caucus foundation board, the honorable terri sewell who represents the 72nd district of alabama. Please welcome her to the stage. Rep. Sewell good morning. On behalf of the board of trustees for the Congressional Black Caucus foundation, i would like to welcome you to alc, or should i say alc52. Really excited about this. I would like to acknowledge the board of directors in the audience. If you are a board member, please stand. [applause] thank you so much for attending. I would also like to acknowledge my colleagues from the Congressional Black Caucus. Will the colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus stand to be acknowledged . [applause] we start with our fearless leader, Steven Horsford from nevada. Stacey plaskett from the Virgin Islands. Bonnie from new jersey. And senator warnock from the great state of georgia. Heath thank you all for being here. It was in my hometown of selma, alabama where john lewis and the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement marched, fought, bled on a bridge in my hometown for the rights and freedoms we all enjoy. But today we know that old battles have become new again and our progress is under attack. Across the nation, extremists are banning the fanning the flames of racism, disinformation, and misinformation to strip away our freedoms, erase our culture, and undermine our democracy. We see these new attacks every day, whitewashing our history, removing stories from our textbooks, restricting our right to vote, and the list goes on and on. I am beyond concerned. I am, and i know you are, alarmed. We are truly at an Inflection Point in american society. In the face of these attacks, we as americans are called upon to speak up, to stand up, and to take action. Our first panel this morning tackles racism head on. The theme of our first panel is race and Racial Equity. We will hear about that attempts to erase our history, to rollback affirmative action, and to erode the good faith efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in all walks of life. Our second panel is called democracy, what next . We will discuss the redolent listen attacks on our most sacred and fundamental rights, and that is the right to vote. Our vote is our voice. In the words of john lewis, it is the most powerful nonviolent tool in our democracy. And yet across the nation, extremists are waging the most coordinated efforts to restrict voter access in this generation. Together, we will address these issues head rep. Sewell every gn must bite. Fight. Struggle is a process, freedom is never won, you earn it and win it in every generation. Our freedoms can be fleeting if we do not protect them. The threats as we we as americans black our faces are real, but they are not coming from overseas. They are coming from our fellow citizens, just as they have for the past 400 years. Old battles have become new again. I know for a fact that if we join together, we can and we will win. It is going to take our collective action and it is going to take us getting into some good trouble. Victory is far from assured, but we are not without resources. We have the intellectual, the organizational and political power to fight back. That power is largely in your hands. Everyone has a role to play. Today, we will be discussing the actions that must be taken on the ground to secure our democracy, to protect our freedoms and to uplift our culture. It is my great pleasure to introduce the man who has devoted his life to the fight and who has spoken powerfully for Racial Justice. Both from the pulpit and now from bag United States congress, none other than georgia senator raphael warnock. Sen. Warnock good morning, everybody. I am a baptist preacher, good morning everybody i am deeply honored, thank you so very much, congresswoman terri sewell from selma, alabama. We welcome all to our alc town, secure in our democracy. All of the goals are connected. I am thrilled to be cochairing the Congressional Black Caucus foundations 52nd annual legislative conference alongside my partner Stacey Plaskett. Virgin islands in the house. Our annual like to conference is a call to action. We have a lot of conversations this week but it is important to remember that this is a call to action. Four to five by thoughtprovoking discussion. Brainstorming on policy solutions and purposeful action that can be applied to communities across the country. That is what this town hall, that is what this Family Reunion is all about a call to action. It could not come at a more important time. This is a moral moment. We are called upon again to push the nation to Center Equity in all of its discussions and policy, and to move forward the continuing project of democracy. Black folk have always had to play a particular kind of role in that work because we have been on the underside of that conversation. A nation caught between being and becoming a democracy yet to be. We are the ones who have had to push that conversation. We know this from history, i know it from personal experience. Do not take the fact that i won in the state of georgia as a clue que to be lulled into sleep. Do not miss read what happened in georgia. Some people studied our win and they went after it with surgical precision. As we entered the runoff a second time, they saw i was winning the runoff the first time and they said we are not going to let them do that again. Officials in georgia said there will be no voting on the first saturday of the runoff. They were misreading and old law saying it was a saturday after a holiday, the holiday being thanksgiving and an old holiday in georgia that honored general robert e. Lee. Is thacann vote. The secretary of the state said our hands are tied. I decided to untied their hands, i sued them. After i sued them, the folks who said their hands were tied then showed us their hands. They went and appealed the ruling. In a matter of days, we had to sue them again and win again. Just so people could vote. The first weekend, about 100,000 people voted, which was about the margin of our victory. We are witnessing an assault on our democracy. We need that Congressional Black Caucus to continue the work we have always done, nothing can be more important or precious. Humankind capacity for justice makes democracy possible. Our capacity for injustice makes democracy necessary. Democracy of the political enactment of a spiritual idea. We ought to have a voice, the way to have a voice is to have a vote. I believe a vote is a kind of prayer. A world we design for ourselves and for our children. We are not about to give up on this fight, which is why we introduce the freedom to vote act early this year. We will continue to fight for the john lewis that. We will continue to fight the good fight. Once again, we have to save the country. Those who have been on the underside of the story pushed the country closer to its ideals. Thomas jefferson said we hold these truths to be selfevident that all are created equal. You stand at the Jefferson Memorial and you think about those words, right across the basin. There is a black man facing Thomas Jefferson named Martin Luther king jr. , his arms folded as if to say did you mean what you said when you said what you said . That is the story of the people on whose shoulders we stand. That is the work of the Congressional Black Caucus foundation and we look forward to this important discussion. God bless you and keep the faith. [applause] she needs no introduction. The great representative Stacey Plaskett, Virgin Islands. Thank you so much. Can we give a round of applause again to senator warnock. I want to thank him and all of you for the fight. Good morning, everyone. As we say in my home, [speaking another language] i am honored to welcome you to the 52nd annual legislative conference, a National Town hall organized by the Congressional Black Caucus foundation and the Congressional Black Caucus institute. Democracy for the people. Bringing together thought leaders, activists and stakeholders to confront the most pressing challenges facing black america. Today, we gather to address the intersectionality up race and democracy and forge concrete strategies to mobilize black americans in the face of current threats. Some of you may know, i serve as the senior member, democratic member, on the committee that my colleagues across the aisle the select committee on the weaponization signed the federal government. Many of my colleagues know there is a lot of production projection going on by my colleagues across the aisle. When they point their finger or somebody else it is because they are thinking about themselves. This committee is this generations house unamerican activities committee. In this clear in attempt to derail the federal governments obligation to investigate and conduct due processes on actions, organizations and individuals who threaten our republic and create an undemocratic environment, i and my fellow democratic colleagues, call ourselves the truth squad. We continued to press them to put people over the baseless theatrics from extremists. We know that committee is being used to cause americans to distrust the federal government, to distrust facts, to distrust the law, to distrust that one want to man or a group of people are indicted for wrongdoing that they should be exempt from the law. We cannot have that. None of you will have that. That is why we are here today, to Work Together to stop that from happening. I am pleased to serve on this panel to delve into the issues of Racial Equity and emphasizing the importance of preserving black history to guide our present and future. It is imperative we draw wisdom from our past, to capitalize on the opportunities in our present. We must safeguard our history to inform our path forward and ensure that the struggles, achievements and contributions of black americans remain at the forefront of our collective memory. Not just our children, all childrens memories. The erosion of democratic values, the rise of disinformation, ideological polarization, Voter Suppression and the weakening of Democratic Institutions demand our unwavering attention and our fight. I represent the Virgin Islands, my family go back 300 years. But i was raised in brooklyn. It is going to get my fight. From efforts to ban books about black history, 200 and affirmative action to ending affirmative action in higher learning, these relentless attacks on race and democracy continue unabated. We must stand united against these aggressive measures. I said i like to fight. I like the law. I like truth. In this National Town hall, we will explore all of these things come up but when we delve into these critical discussions, when we say we are about preserving the law, there is one person i ow w is about that. It is my great pleasure to introduce a distinguished guest, patricia james. Letitia james, the 67th attorney general of the state of new york. Attorney general james has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to justice, accountability and the protection of vulnerable new york residents. As the first woman of color to hold statewide office in newark and the first woman elected as attorney general, she has blazed the trail of accomplishments throughout her career and doing it with style. Doing it with that new yorks weather. Under her leadership, the office of the attorney general has secured billions in settlements from those who broke state laws and taking Decisive Action on issues ranging from ob owed opioid economic attorney general james has been a National Leader in the fight for reproductive rights, champion for workplace protection and defender of the census and daca. Dreamers are us too. Her dedication to justice transcends partisan lines and serves as an inspiration to us all. I thank you for your commitment to democracy, Racial Equity and the betterment of our society. Together we can overcome the challenges before us and build a more just and inclusive future for all americans. I want to invite attorney general james up right now to give us a special message. Thank you all. Good morning. Is brooklyn in the house . Brooklyn [laughter] [applause] they just walked in. It is great to be with all of you this morning. I want to thank the Congressional Black Caucus foundation for this invitation to this important event. I want to thank my very good friend, congresswoman Stacey Plaskett for that kind invitation. When i think about her serving on