Kappas on Capitol Hill Summary
FRATERNITY’S CAPITOL HILL CONFERNCE
ENCOURAGES PARTICIPATION IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS
Philadelphia (April 21st) - During the annual James “Biff” Carter Legislative Congress on Capitol Hill, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (Kappa) held a wide range of seminars, workshops and panel discussions to encourage its members and the minority community at large to participate fully in the country’s political process.
31st Grand Polemarch (CEO) Dwayne M. Murray, Esq. speaking of the Kappas on Capitol Hill conference said, “An entire generation of people marched, protested and died for the right to vote. It is a right stained in blood and protected by the Constitution. Every U.S. citizen should be a part of the process.” More than 300 Members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. heeded that call and attended the 3-day conference.
During the Public Meeting Kappa Brother, Dr. Ron Walters, the Distinguished Leadership Scholar and Director of the African- American Leadership Center as Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland (College Park) and author of “Freedom is Not Enough: Black Voters, Black Candidates and American Presidential Politics” gave the Keynote speech to a standing room only crowd. Walters highlighted the importance of entities like Kappa becoming vigorously involved in the political and legislative process for the betterment of the communities they serve.
A number of key Congressional leaders also attended the fraternity’s sponsored events, among them, U.S. Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democratic Majority Leader for the 110th Congress, and United States Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. “The fact that these elected officials, even during this busy legislative session took time to attend our conference is a testament to the leadership Kappa provides in the more than 700 communities our Chapters serve,” Grand Polemarch Murray said.
An example of the enthusiasm the conference provided was seen on the steps of the Capitol during the group photo with members and elected officials. There were a number of Brothers engaged in advocacy and lobbying legislators on the importance of issues such as: legislation that integrates financial education into K-12 classrooms; support for legislation that stresses the importance of early screening and detection for prevalent diseases in African-American men; the development of comprehensive support services to better support African American male students in college; and H.R. 3846, a bill designed to prevent juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity.
“It is one thing to attend a conference,” Murray explained, “But that participation must translate into action. We learned and gained an enormous amount of information on important issues. It is my hope that Brothers are now able to return home empowered and equipped with additional knowledge and tools to become better servant leaders for their families, communities, and Kappa Alpha Psi.
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Kappa Alpha Psi News Wire