Trayvon Martin's Father, Tracy Martin Joins Inaugural Hearing for Congressional Caucus on Black Men

By: Congressional Caucus on Black Men & Boys
 
July 23, 2013 - PRLog -- Trayvon Martin's Father, Tracy Martin to Join Inaugural Hearing for Congressional Caucus on Black Men & Boys

WASHINGTON - On the heels of President Obama’s historic statement on the Travyon Martin case, the Supreme Court’s decision to gut key protections of  the Voting Rights Act, and the recent not guilty verdict in the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, the first-ever Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys will hold its inaugural hearing. The group is led by representatives from two of America’s key cities: Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-IL), who represents Chicago, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who represents Washington, D.C.

The panel has invited Tracy Martin, the father of slain 17-year old Floridian Trayvon Martin to attend as a guest of honor.  He will meet privately with caucus members prior to the hearing and attend for its duration.

The theme of the hearing will be The Status of Black Males: Ensuring Our Boys Mature Into Strong Men,and will feature three prominent thought leaders: MSNBC host and Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson; former U.S. Congressman and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume; and head of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African American, David J. Johns. Mr. Johns, an elementary-education specialist, will discuss the early years when many black boys struggle without fathers in the home. Dr. Dyson will cover the challenges black boys face as they reach their youth and teen years; and Mr. Mfume will discuss the plight of African-American men who reach manhood but lack the necessary formal education or training they need to survive in society.

“Our nation and our African American community need to bring our Black men and boys to center stage.  With this inaugural hearing, our new Caucus on Black Men and Boys begins our mission to take on the challenges facing our men and boys, and to ask our fellow Americans and African-Americans to do the same.”  said Norton.

“Fifty years after the March on Washington it is an unfortunate fact that today young black men are still more likely to be unemployed, to be expelled from school, to be stopped at random on the street because they have been profiled, to be sent to prison, to not have access to regular quality health care, or to have suffered gun violence,” said Davis.  “We know that our nation cannot be true to its values, indeed cannot sustain itself divided by such persistent inequalities.  This hearing is a key step into focusing the attention and creativity of our nation into addressing the profound causes and consequences of this great divide.”

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Notes

The hearing will take place in the House Judiciary Room, 2237 Rayburn House Office Building from 3-5 pm.
Press outlets will have space inside the hearing to broadcast audio and video
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/events/385437078223436/
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Source:Congressional Caucus on Black Men & Boys
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