Shirley Chisholm Presidential Accountability Commission Launched

The Institute of the Black World 21st Century will launch the Shirley Chisholm Presidential Accountability Commission today in Washington, DC.

The Commission is named in honor of Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman to be elected to Congress and the first woman to seek the Democratic nomination for President.

The inaugural meeting will feature tributes to Chisholm by Representatives John Conyers, Barbara Lee and Yvette Clarke, and Dr. Elsie Scott, President and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

The tribute ceremony will be followed by a symposium, “Black America: The Economic State of Emergency.” The presenters will address the human face of the jobless crisis, and propose legislative and policy solutions. The speakers include:

• Dr. Ron Daniels, President, Institute of the Black World 21st Century
• Dr. Duchess Harris, Associate Professor, American Studies, Macalester College
• Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President, Bennett College for Women
• Faye Moore, President, Social Services Employees Union Local 371
• Dedrick Muhammad, Senior Organizer and Research Associate, Institute for Policy Studies
• Nkechi Taifa, Senior Policy Analyst, Open Society Institute
• Dr. Ronald Walters, Distinguished Leadership Scholar Emeritus, University of Maryland, College Park
• Erica L. Williams, Deputy Director for Progress 2050, Center for American Progress

Richard Adams, Chairman of the Board of IBW and Convener of the Commission, noted:

The Shirley Chisholm Accountability Commission was not organized to react to President Barack Obama. As we indicated when the idea of the Commission was announced at the State of the Black World Conference, we need a mechanism that can monitor progress on the Black Agenda, no matter who occupies the White House. We finally have a structure that can fulfill that function in Black America.

Dr. Ronald Walters added:

Contrary to all the discussion about a post-racial society, the gravity of the economic crisis in the Black community demonstrates the need to continue to advance a Black Agenda whether there is a Black President or not. Thus far the Obama administration has been reluctant to devise policies designed to ameliorate the urgent crises facing the Black community, particularly the inner cities.

The event is free and open to the public. The program will begin at 12:00 p.m., in Room 2237 Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

For more info about the Shirley Chisholm Presidential Accountability Commission, go here.