E3 Forum: Black Fathers, Families and Communities
Contact: Helen Mitchell FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ALERT:
WASHINGTON, DC -Tuesday, October 27, 2009, the Representative Danny K. Davis (IL-07) will present a "Black Agenda" at a Capitol Hill forum entitled "E3 Forum: Black Fathers, Families and Communities" in the Cannon Caucus Room from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm. Members of the Black Caucus and Congress, advocates and researchers will join Rep. Davis for a straight talk about TANF Welfare and H.R. 2979: Julia Carson Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act of 2009 (111th house companion of then- former Senator Obama's 110th Fatherhood Bill) calling for a new foundation of economic opportunities for low-income Americans, particularly Black fathers, families and communities.
The E3 Forum's agenda is threefold, to:
* Educate: debunk myths about black fathers, families and communities and expose deep-seated institutional inequities/disparities and related public policies-like No Child Left Behind; Tough on Crime/War on Drugs; and TANF Welfare Reform-devastating effects on Black America;
* Empower: explain the inner-workings of TANF Welfare and how it exacerbates interlocking and inter-generational structural and cultural constraints; and
* Engage: call-to-action for Responsible Government to transform TANF Welfare from an entitlement to an empowerment program that removes barriers to responsible fatherhood and healthy families.
Notably:
* Government Accountability Office will release findings from a "special report" on low-income Americans commissioned by Representatives Jim McDermott (WA-07) and Danny K. Davis (IL-07);
* Congressional Research Service will release findings from a first-of-its-kind report, commissioned by Representative Danny K. Davis (IL-07), chronicling the progressive scaling back of federal support for low-income Americans that too often undermine family formation and stability for Black Americans; and lastly
* Annie E. Casey Foundation will release a statistically significant report entitled, "Responsible Government: Investing in the Well-being of Black Fathers, Families and Communities" that uniquely depicts the interlocking and inter-generational nature of structural, cultural, and policy issues contributing to the changing Black American family structure.
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