By Hamil R. Harris
(TriceEdneyWire.com) – The Walter Washington Convention Center was filled with thousands who came to the nation’s capital for the 54th Annual Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference (ALC).
The annual glitzy event with a balance of parties and politics featured dozens of issues forums, brain trusts and receptions crucial to the Black community. At one time, only a dozen Black men and one Black woman had been elected to Congress. But today there are 61 Black lawmakers in Congress, and African-Americans have served as both President and Vice President.
This year is particularly difficult because of President Trump’s heavy-handed style of controlling the Republicans in Congress. Therefore, the ALC featured speakers who seemed especially focused on encouraging politicians and activists to stay focused on justice.
”Today is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore, during his speech at the CBC awards dinner Saturday night. “I know that we are in a challenging moment right now, but I am not interested in talking about them or him. I am interested in talking about how powerful we are.”
As he spoke, Moore, a decorated Army veteran, reflected on the historical roots of the CBC, which began after Rev. Adam Clayton, pastor of the Abyssian Baptist Church in New York, was first elected to Congress in 1961.
“The CBC was built for moments like this. Adam Clayton Powell did not bend a knee, Elijah Cummings did not bend a knee,” Moore said. “History is not likely to remember this administration fondly. And those who capitulate will be remembered even worse. I led soldiers into combat, and I don’t bend a knee for anybody.”
From the annual Phoenix Awards dinner to the CBC Day of Healing, the theme of the annual prayer breakfast, there was plenty of tough talk by speakers and lawmakers that was welcomed by participants and lawmakers who have mounted a counter-offensive to President Donald Trump and his right-wing agenda.
“We’ve come to the nation’s capital during some dark and tough days,” said Howard John Wesley, the keynote speaker during the prayer breakfast. Pastor of DC’s Alfred Street Baptist Church, Wesley said, ”We have come with the same questions on our minds: What are we going to do?”
Declaring himself to be “a bona fide, born-again child of Hip Hop,” Wesley weaved in popular lyrics as he criticized actions of the Trump Administration.
“They are unfamiliar with the melancholy sounds of masochism. They don’t recognize the offbeat bassline of bigotry. You threaten museums in the first place. The chorus of the song is an attack on free speech and a free press,” he said. “You ban reporters from the White House. You try to kick Jimmy Kimmel off the air and in the chorus of the song you create a military pretense of lowering crime in blue cities with Black mayors, ignoring the fact that mass shooters come from red states.” Wesley continued, “You destroy DEI by creating a false narrative that your White average is better than my Black excellence.”
Wesley then shared a story about teaching his son how to play the card game Spades before taking him to an HBCU. “When you have been dealt a bad hand, you don’t quit if you know you have a good partner. I thank God that we have a good partner who can bring us through.”
He concluded for the audience, “Don’t you leave this place discouraged. Don’t you leave with your head down, he said, quoting Psalm 24:7-10: “Lift your heads, oh ye gates, and the king of glory shall come in. Who is this king of glory? He is the Lord, strong and mighty!“
Former Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris also spoke during the Phoenix Awards dinner: “When a President with a fragile ego couldn’t take a joke,” he brought down the weight of the federal government to silence the voice of a citizen, but it didn’t work, she said. “Folks spoke with their pocketbook this week, and Jimmy Kemmel is back on the air.”
CBC Chair Yvette Clarke said, despite what is going on in Washington, “History is on our side.” And Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), House Democratic Leader, said, despite the current situation, the motto remains the same: “No permanent friends,[no permanent enemies] just permanent interests.”