Registration is now open for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) Virtual 2020 Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) scheduled from August 31 – October 2, 2020. The conference is complimentary with no registration charges, allowing participants to experience the programming they have become accustomed to from the comfort and safety of their homes. 

All conference attendees must register in order to access sessions at cbcfinc.org/alc2020

Virtual 2020 ALC will include more than 50 issue forums and brain trusts featuring members of the Congressional Black Caucus; a National Town Hall; the Emerging Leaders Series; and celebrity entertainment. A special Day of Healing and Phoenix Awards Celebration will also be featured.

The American Federation of Teachers will be sponsoring the 6^th Annual Professional Development Series for Educators: “Teach Them the Way Tuesdays”

COVID-19 OR NOT: CRIMINALIZATION OF AMERICAN SCHOOLS PERSIST

Racial disparities and the recent police shootings dominate the headlines as the world grapples with a pandemic that again has exposed America’s troubling 400- year history and its impact on human life.  From enslavement to Jim Crow laws to post-civil rights strategies designed to perpetuate separate and unequal worlds, we are facing the harsh reality of a society that is soaked in structural and attitudinal barriers.  As a result, COVID-19 is killing an alarming number of Black people while criminalizing laws, policies and practices kill or derail bright futures for Black men, women and children in their homes, communities, and public schools. 

Ironically, public schools should be a place where children are pushed up to be prepared for college, careers and life.  Yet in many cases, schools too are criminalizing environments that push children out, oftentimes on a pathway to prison, low-paying jobs and a daily struggle to survive.  A recent report by the Schott Foundation for Education portrays African-American children with a higher likelihood of being pushed out than any other ethnic group at a rate that is triple as high as white students.

Join us for a series of professional development sessions that will examine critical spaces where educators can make a difference in the lives of our children that leads to their success and bright futures:

• When the Bell Rings:  Rethinking Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

• Igniting and Inviting Student Self-Direction and High Achievement in the NOW Remote Learning Environment

• Pair of ACEs:  Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adverse Community Experiences

• Today’s Lesson:  The Power in Us

Expert speakers will examine the agency of each to disrupt the criminalization cycle and connect the dots between the roles that federal policies play in pushing students out.  The fourth discussion will remind us that our power is our vote on November 3^rd for the next U.S. President, U.S. Congress, Governors, state legislators and local elected officials. Adapted for the virtual environment of the Annual Legislative Conference, educators will have a rare opportunity to earn continuing education units that remain an essential requirement for their licensure during COVID-19.  The sessions will be scheduled at convenient times during the Conference and available on demand for six months.