Photo: YouTube
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) created a commission to study the challenges facing Black males, including a high rate of homicides and incarceration and other hardships.
Co-chaired by Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), and Lucy McBath (D-GA), the Caucus publicly introduced a resolution at a press conference last week to establish an advisory body that would examine the societal inequities that adversely affect this demographic.
The Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act calls for a bipartisan commission to be housed within the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ office. It would be led by a staff director, and its 19 members would include appointees from the Senate and the House, the CBC chairperson, and five CBC members, as well as representatives from federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations.
The commission would be charged with examining homicide rates, arrest and incarceration rates, poverty, violence, fatherhood, mentorship, drug abuse, death rates, disparate income and wealth levels, school performance at various grade levels, and health issues.
McBath, whose son, Jordan Davis, was gunned down by a white motorist in Florida for playing his music too loudly, spoke at the press conference.
“I was teaching him to stand up against unrighteousness and to stand up in the face of injustice. I was preparing him to take his place in this world at the decision-making table as a powerful young black man. My son, like so many others, was a victim of implicit bias and racism and I feel an obligation in my core to address these issues on behalf of each of the young men that are standing here today full of potential and destined to do great things.”
More here.
