From Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) to Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and the Rev. Dr. George L. Parks Jr., pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Largo, Maryland, Prince George’s County leaders used their platforms at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) 55th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) to encourage change across the nation.
Ivey, who served as ALC co-chair alongside Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), promoted the importance of unity and solidarity, particularly amid the Supreme Court’s Callais decision, which effectively ended Democratic congressional representation in the Deep South.
“It’s an incredible honor to serve as co-chair of this year’s annual legislative conference,” he said in a video. “For more than a half-century, the congressional black caucus has brought together leaders, advocates, entrepreneurs, organizers and everyday Americans around a simple idea: that when our communities come together, we move this nation forward. And I can’t think of a more important time to come together than now.”
With more than 100 different panels during the annual conference — including discussions on energy, voting rights, and transportation — Alsobrooks, who served as a co-chair of last year’s ALC, hosted a panel on building wealth.
“This is the second year we’ve been able to host this particular panel on wealth creation in our communities and this is an important topic,” she told The Informer. “We know that the foundation of every community is having the opportunity to afford health care, education, and housing. Talking about not just living on the margins, but living beyond our wildest dreams: to create generational wealth.”
After attending festivities during this year’s conference, Shireka McCarthy, the newly elected council president for the city of Seat Pleasant and the second year president of the Maryland Municipal League’s Black Caucus, said the convening provides an important mentorship and knowledge opportunity for rising leaders.
“Leadership pipelines are how we make sure our communities are not only represented, but prepared to lead. From my work in Seat Pleasant creating opportunities for residents and future leaders to engage in municipal government, I understand that the mission of the Congressional Black Caucus and the MML Black Caucus is bigger than the leaders serving today,” she told The Informer. “It is about developing the knowledge, relationships, and civic confidence needed to ensure that the next generation is ready to step forward, serve, and shape policy for our communities.”
Kayce Munyeneh, the first African American mayor of Cheverly and a real estate professional, was one of the panelists on a networking panel.
“More than half a century after the Fair Housing Act, Black homeownership has barely moved — from about 42% in 1970 to just 46% in 2024. That’s why I’m excited to speak on behalf of women in politics this Wednesday about the resources — and politics — that impact homeownership, particularly for Black women,” she said in a Facebook post. “I bought my first home at 24. The truth is, I probably couldn’t afford to buy my own home today. Buying young was scary, but the equity I’ve built has been one of my greatest financial saving graces. I want more young people to buy as early as they responsibly can, build equity, and use it to change their lives.”
Laurel Mayor Keith Sydnor attended both Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy’s gala at MGM National Harbor and discussions with congressional leaders at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the hub for the majority of ALC programming.
“It was a privilege to hear from Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Rep. Jim Clyburn, whose perspectives and experiences contributed to important conversations on affordable housing, workforce development for youth and returning citizens, and voting rights issues I have worked to advance at the local level since first being elected to the Laurel City Council in 2017,” Sydnor said in a social media post. “Opportunities like the CBCF Annual Legislative Conference allow public servants to exchange ideas, strengthen partnerships, and bring valuable perspectives back to the communities we serve.”
After forums and sessions wrapped, the conference held its annual Day of Healing Prayer Breakfast, where Parks delivered the keynote message, encouraging people to fight back amid today’s challenges.
“One of the greatest ways that you and I fight back is finding something that’s worth going the distance for,” Parks said before listing some of the causes he thinks are worthy. “Voting rights, equal education, affirmative action, diversity, equity, and inclusion, health care disparities, historically black colleges, and universities. Justice for our Black princes and princesses that have died prematurely. You ought to fight for Trayvon Martin, Medgar [Evers], Malcolm [X], [the Rev. Dr.] Martin [Luther King Jr.], Sandra Bland, Nolan Wells and Tamir Rice.You are fighting to finish what they were fighting for.”
