(blackamericaweb.com) The national foreclosure crisis will be high on the agenda as lawmakers and other black leaders from around the country gather Wednesday for the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
With one of its members as the Democratic nominee for president, growing unease in financial and housing markets and concerns over voter registration and vote protection, expectations for the CBC will be heightened, observers said.
“The stakes are much higher for the entire Black Caucus this year,” James Taylor, a University of San Francisco political scientist, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “There is a new reality for CBC members if we have an Obama administration.”
But there could be a more familiar reality if Sen. Barack Obama does not win the presidency, he said.
“It could be like 1994, in the mid-term election, when Republicans came in with the Contract with America,” Taylor said. “The first thing they did was to target the Congressional Black Caucus and the organization of Hispanic lawmakers.”
Throughout the primary season, CBC members were almost evenly divided in their support for Obama and former Democratic candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton. But Taylor said now they must unite and work together.
Regardless of who is elected to the White House, CBC members must be able to work with them if they want to effectively address issues impacting their constituents, said Vanderbilt University law professor Carol Swain.
“Constituents for decades have been looking for more from the CBC,” Swain told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
If elected president, Swain said, Obama would be in a difficult position addressing a CBC agenda. “He would be more constrained to deliver for black people than any other president. He cannot come across as favoring one group over another.”
Still, the CBC has to be involved in the “bread and butter” issues affecting its constituents, said Swain. “One of the key issues has been immigration. That’s one issue where they have taken their hands off.”
Dr. Kathie Stromile-Golden, executive director of the National Association of Black Political Scientists, said the CBC will be called upon for leadership in addressing the mortgage crisis, which has disproportionately impacted blacks.
“We see the government’s focus on bailing out Wall Street, but what is being done for the poor, and especially the single parents who are struggling as a result of the mortgage crisis?” Stromile-Golden asked.
The CBC conference schedule includes a national town hall meeting on Thursday addressing the national foreclosure crisis. Countless numbers of black poor and middle class people are among the millions who have received foreclosure notices in recent months because they could not pay the increased mortgage costs resulting from sub-prime loans.
“This housing crisis has a trickle-down effect that is affecting millions of Americans every day,” said Dr. Elsie L. Scott, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. “We will be hearing very personal, very real stories of what is going on beyond Washington. That is why we will have critical breakout and call-for-action sessions in the convention center following the town hall meeting.”
The CBC town hall meeting will include two breakout sessions: “Save or Sell” and “Credit Management After the Crisis.” Participants will learn specific information regarding credit management, mistakes to avoid and how to decide whether to hold onto or sell a home.
Taylor and Ron Walters, head of the African American Leadership Institute, said the CBC must make voter registration and mobilization a part of its focus this week. An aggressive outreach effort could help Obama and the campaigns of CBC members facing opponents in November.
“If there is an Obama victory, CBC members stand to shore up their standing in their own districts because there would be a sea-tide effect,” Taylor said. “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
The annual four-day event focuses on issues impacting blacks and the African diaspora, and includes policy forums, general sessions, a job fair, book signings and networking opportunities.
Other conference highlights:
• CBC spouses will honor blues legend B.B. King; Howard Bingham, Muhammad Ali’s longtime photographer; and visual artist Betye Saar at the National Museum of Women in the Arts on Wednesday. The next morning, CBC spouses and CBC members will provide food, clothing and health services at a homeless shelter in Northwest Washington.
• The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation will host a gathering Friday night to watch the presidential debate between Obama and Sen. John McCain, broadcast from the University of Mississippi.
• The Rev. Dr. Floyd Flake, a former congressman and pastor of Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York, will speak Saturday during the annual prayer breakfast. Gospel singer Maurette Brown Clark will lead the audience in musical praise.
• CBCF will present the final stop of its national health initiative tour on Saturday featuring Donna Richardson Joyner, creator of “Sweating in the Spirit” exercise videos. She will be joined by her husband, Tom Joyner, host of the “Tom Joyner Morning Show.”