Dear Colleague: It has been an honor to serve as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) for the 116th Congress. We began this Congress as the largest and most powerful Caucus in history, with 55 Members, five full Committee Chairs, and three Members of House Democratic Leadership. I am proud of all that we collectively accomplished with the power we held, from the passage of voting rights legislation and permanent funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to a national tou...
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Washington, D.C. – The Congressional Black Caucus released this statement following the House passage of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (FY21 NDAA). In November 2020, the Congressional Black Caucus voted unanimously to adopt a position that the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act must include a provision mandating the redesignation of Department of Defense property honoring the Confederacy within three years. We are pleased to see that language to that ef...
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The appointment of Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as Secretary of Defense makes our country stronger and safer. He has led a distinguished career of service to this nation, most recently served as the head of the United States Central Command and vice chief of staff of the Army. He is a decorated combat veteran, having been awarded the nation’s third-highest award for valor: the Silver Star. But this is about more than an impeccable record. This appointment reverberates throughout the histor...
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This week, the Congressional Black Caucus voted unanimously to adopt a position that the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act must include a provision mandating the redesignation of Department of Defense property honoring the Confederacy. The Congressional Black Caucus maintains that the renaming must be completed no later than three years. Both the House and the Senate passed bipartisan provisions to rename defense property that currently memorializes and honors the Confederacy a...
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On behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am delighted to congratulate our very own Member, Representative Cedric Richmond, on his historic appointment to serve in the Biden Administration. As the Director of Public Engagement and Senior Advisor to President-Elect Joe Biden, Rep. Richmond will be the most senior African-American serving in the incoming administration. This appointment is a clear recognition of both the critical role Rep. Richmond played in the Biden Campaign as national co-...
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Today, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Karen Bass sent a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the state sanctioned violence against peaceful non-violent protesters in Nigeria and calling for dialogue with the CBC and the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Sylvanus Nsofor. In the letter, the Congressional Black Caucus expressed particular concern with the documented force used by the Nigerian police and military, which has resulted in the loss of lives and injury of do...
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Today, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, sent a letter to Mr. Tony H. Pham, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director, demanding that ICE stop its plans to deport over 200 Cameroonian asylum seekers today and the hundreds of others in various ICE facilities throughout the country without a thorough investigation. Recent allegations have been raised that the Cameroonian...
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Today, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), unveiled the second edition of the Jobs and Justice Act. The comprehensive legislation developed by the Congressional Black Caucus is aimed at increasing the upward mobility of Black families in America. The bill was first introduced in 2018 by then-CBC Chair Cedric Richmond (LA-02). The Jobs and Justice Act of 2020 is a package of over 200 bills championed by members of the CBC. This omnibus bill addresses a wide range of issues, from comm...
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On Monday, July 20th, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) sent a letter to Secretary Mike Pompeo to address the lack of diversity and inclusion among the State Department's foreign service and civil service personnel. During this movement for change, we must look within our institutions to ensure that they reflect a multicultural America. There is a prevalent and persistent institutional racism at the State Department. A February 2020 study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found di...
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The Congressional Black Caucus released the following statement on President Trump's announcement to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO): "The move to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) in the midst of a pandemic highlights this administration’s gross mismanagement of this global health emergency and a complete abdication of international responsibility and leadership. As past administrations have done successfully before, we should be investing in our response capac...
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