The Congressional Caucus on Black Women & Girls, an initiative launched by three U.S. congresswomen, including Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois, held its inaugural Chicago event at the University of Chicago's Polsky Exchange on Aug. 26.
The daylong symposium, entitled Defining the Black Female Experience, drew more than 250 attendees. During three panel discussions, speakers and guests explored public policy and community-based solutions to eliminating some of the barriers and disparities experienced by black women.
Among the speakers were Melissa Gilliam, MD, MPH, Ellen H. Block Professor and Vice Provost for Academic Leadership, Advancement and Diversity at UChicago; Kelly Fair, founder and executive director of girls mentoring program Polished Pebbles, which is part of the inaugural cohort of the University’s Community Programs Accelerator; Melody Spann Cooper, president of Chicago’s WVON radio station; Dorri McWhorter, chief executive officer of YWCA Metropolitan Chicago; Shari Runner, president of the Chicago Urban League; and actress Drew Sidora.
The panel topics were “Combatting Health Discrimination Against Black Women,” “Black Women as a Global Economic Force,” and “Counteracting the Stereotypical Depictions of Black Women in the Media.
Rep. Kelly joined with fellow Congresswomen Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey and Yvette Clarke of New York to create the Caucus and co-host the Chicago event. The “symposium was part of a continuing discussion about putting the health and wellbeing of Black women at the top of the agenda and devising strategies to empower all Black women and girls to succeed,” Kelly said.
UChicago’s Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture, the Polsky Exchange, and the Office of Federal Relations partnered with the Caucus on the event.
“We agree with the organizers that the time is overdue to focus on the problems of a group that is disproportionately disadvantaged due to race, gender and often economic status,” said Michael C. Dawson, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Political Science and the College at UChicago, and founding director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture. “We look forward to future collaborations with the CBC Caucus on Women and Girls and with other policy leaders on these critically vital topics.”
