Washington (AP) – The Black Caucus of the Congress started its annual legislative conference this week, which was taken up by the second term of President Donald Trump and the presence of patrols from the National Guard near the event location of the conference.
The 62-member Caucus, all of which are all democrats, gathered with business leaders, activists, political experts, local government officials and other experts from all over the country to strategy how his recent agenda can be built up, and to counteract Trump’s politics that interrupt the programs of the Federal Government, which have been interrupted with the basic rights, education, in the healthcare and in the work policy deal.
While this year’s conference introduced the usual panels, strategy sessions and cocktail parties, many participants hoped to hear from the “conscience of the congress” – a nickname that was given to the CBC for its civil rights work – about which lessons from American history can be learned for the current political climate and how the laws should win future elements.
Here are some comments from the CBC legislature who took part in this year’s conference:
MP Jim Clyburn by South Carolina
“This will probably be one of the most consistent weeks you have ever spent in your life,” said Clyburn, the former democratic leader of the house, at the beginning of the conference. “Take it from me: we are on the abyss of losing this democracy. We are. And if you don’t believe it, make a journey through the history of the country.”
“I would hope that I would not leave this earth, and my children and grandchildren would not be convicted of living life that lived their grandparents and parents,” said the 85-year-old Congressman.
“If we were done at that moment, we will win this year. If we lose, our children would not think well of us.”
Rep. Yvette Clarke from New York
“This is not a conventional time. This is the time that we bring to our own fate for ourselves,” said Clarke, chairman of Black Caucus, in a speech to the participants of the conference.
“This is not a situation in which we can say, well, look, these people in the congress got it. Because the congress is broken,” said Clarke. “We delivered democracy to the United States. It would not be for the abolitionists if it were not for civil rights leaders if it were not for the foot soldiers on site, we would still live in apartheid.
Clarke added: “I believe in us because today I would not stand here as the chair of the largest black caucus in the history of the United States as chair of the largest black caucus.”
MP Jennifer McClellan from Virginia
“It is not the case that if (Democrats) get the hammer, we are back on what we had. We also take this opportunity to see what we can do from the front,” said McClellan.
“There are some Republicans in the committee spaces or in delegations that share our concerns on some topics, whether it is the NIH -Financing cuts, whether there are problems with the initial adaptation or whether it is pristine energy collar.
Rep. Glenn Ivey from Maryland
“It will be a new day, partly because they have changed the government structure so much,” said Ivey, as the Democrats plan to react to the federal government in response to Trump’s changes.
“Part of what we have to do is to relieve a large part of the bureaucracy that he is in, just cry out and start from the front,” said Ivey, who represents the suburbs of Washington. “And we have to ensure that we understand that we rely on certain government agencies for a large part of the legislation so that it works. It will no longer fly. The Department of Ministry of Justice and the Department of Civil Rights is an example of this.”
MP Sydney Kalifornia Kalifornia
“The reality is that some of the bad things will simply happen,” said Kamlager-Dove. “There is no strategy to stop some of the bad things, except continues to train people about hypocrisy and duplicity, which happens.”
“Many of these special elections, many of these local elections that have come into office since Donald Trump and have started implementing his 2025 project, won democrats,” she said. “The strategy is to involve community -based organizations. The strategy is to work demanding with our legal community. The strategy is to bring everything to court. The strategy is to create something outrage. The strategy is to keep the fights in local elections.
MP Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts
“I think the air feels much more difficult than normal. After each session, after every session I had, I leave encouraged and fortified,” said Pressley.
“It is so important that we base ourselves into the community, but also that we have strategy that we are intended in our thought partnership and in our organization, in the work of resistance and the work of redesign,” she said. “So I would say, you know, at that moment I feel very encouraged.”
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