The election of the nation’s first Black President in November 2008 put the issue of race on the table, front and center, despite the best efforts of the winning candidate, Barack Obama, to downplay its significance in American life. Since his inauguration in January there have been several flashpoints during which it became clear that the nation’s racial past had a present, and one that continues to influence social relations and economic opportunity. As the forty-two members of the Congressional Black Caucus convene this week for their Annual Legislative Conference (ALC), the issue is being given attention at a time when it is prominent in the health care reform debate underway on Capitol Hill.

As part of the ALC activities on Saturday, the Institute for the Black World 21st Century (IBW) will convene a Black Family Summit that will examine “Life in Post-Racial America.” The moderator for the summit will be Dr. Ron Daniels, President of IBW and a contributor to NorthStarNews.com. Presiding over the summit and serving as its convener will be Dr. Leonard Dunston. Appearing as a special guest will be Minister Ava Muhummad, National Representative for the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

The lineup of panelists and their areas of focus include:

Mentoring Youth for Survival and Development
Susan Taylor, President, National Cares Mentoring Movement

Rekindling the African Centered Education Movement
Atty. Faya Rose Sanders, President, Voting Rights Museum, Selma, Alabama

The War on Drugs and the Criminalization of the Black Community
Atty. Nkechi Taifa, Senior Policy Analyst, Open Society Institute

Miscarriage of Justice: The Rev. Edward Pinckney Case
Dr. Iva Carruthers, General Secretary, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference

The Policy Implications of the 2010 Census
Makani Themba-Nixon, Executive Director, Praxis Project

Report Card on Obama: The Shirley Chisholm Presidential Accountability Commission
 
Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President, Bennett College for Women
Dr. Ron Walters, Director, African American Leadership Center, University of Maryland

The Black Family Summit will be held in Room 145A from 2 pm to 4:30 pm in the Washington Convention Center, the site of this year’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference.