Black History

Fifty-Five Strong: The Largest Congressional Black Caucus Kicks Off the 116th Congress

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “I am proud to witness the ceremonial swearing-in of the largest @OfficialCBC in history. With 55 members and @RepKarenBass serving as their chairwoman, the Congressional Black Caucus is stronger than ever,” wrote Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez.

Published

7 years ago

January 11, 2019

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

As the new Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) was handed a large gavel from outgoing Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) it became clear that the new CBC would be making a sizable mark on the next Congress.

The new CBC includes the youngest African American woman to be sworn-in to the U.S. House in history, Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), as well as Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim females ever elected to Congress. Rep. Tlaib occupies the seat held by long term Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) who retired from Congress on December 5, 2017.

The new CBC features nine new members of the U.S. House bringing the group to a total of 55. The 116th Congress will be the first time that the Congressional Black Caucus will ever have over fifty members.

Bass, 65, severed served as the former Speaker of the California House and was the first-ever African-American woman ever to hold that position.

“Honored to have been sworn in as 26th Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus today.

We will fight fiercely against hate. We will not retreat and allow our past victories to be erased,” wrote Chairwoman Bass on Twitter, January 3, the first day of the 116th Congress.

“I am proud to witness the ceremonial swearing-in of the largest @OfficialCBC in history. With 55 members and @RepKarenBass serving as their chairwoman, the Congressional Black Caucus is stronger than ever,” wrote Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>.<a href=”https://twitter.com/IlhanMN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@IlhanMN</a> shows her new Congressional Black Caucus jacket to <a href=”https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@AOC</a> outside the Capitol in Washington, DC on January 4, 2018. Photo for <a href=”https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@nytimes</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/nytassignment?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#nytassignment</a> <a href=”https://t.co/7XOGzJ2Dte”>pic.twitter.com/7XOGzJ2Dte</a></p>— Erin Schaff (@erinschaff) <a href=”https://twitter.com/erinschaff/status/1083384301373263873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>January 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

The Presidency of Donald Trump will greatly shape the agenda of the Congressional Black Caucus over the next two years.

Just as Rep. Richmond witnessed, there will be many issues that will arise out of nowhere in the news simply because the Trump Administration has decided to roll back so much of what was completed during the eight years president Barack Obama was in The White House.

But there is one huge difference: The CBC will have what was referred to at the ceremonial swearing in as “the big five.” They are the five Chairmen and Chairwomen who will serve over what many CBC members hope are Trump’s last two years in office. They are Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

Three of the five Chairs will head committees that are certain to play an investigatory role over the Trump Administration. Rep. Cummings who will Chair the Committee on Government Oversight has already signaled that his committee will subpoena over the Trump Administration policy of children being separated from their parents and detained at the U.S./Mexico border.

Chairwoman Waters, who will lead the House Financial Services Committee, has signaled she will push against Wall Street and in favor of consumer protections regarding investment and financial products.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and writer for NNPA as well as a political analyst and strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

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As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?