MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Domenica Ghanem, domenica@ips-dc.org, 202 787 5205
(Washington, DC) – The Institute for Policy Studies will host The State of Black Workers in America Conference led by our Black Worker Initiative project on June 7 from 10:00AM to 4:00PM at the Howard University School of Social Work. This day-long conference will feature three panels discussing the best and most innovative organizing led by Black workers in the U.S. because the role of Black workers is key to the revitalization of the labor movement. Opening statements will be made by Marc Bayard, Director of IPS’ Black Worker Initiative, and Clarence Lusane, Professor of International Relations at Howard University.
Panelists will be available for interviews at the conference.
Panels will include:
We Dream In Black: Telling the Story of Black Women Low-Wage Domestic Organizing in the South, moderated by Alicia Garza of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. This all women of color panel will introduce a project led by Black domestic workers in North Carolina and Georgia who are fighting for better wages, access to benefits, and a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights at the state level.
What the Hell do We Have to Lose? Black Workers Reflect on the First Six Months of the Trump Administration, moderated by MSNBC’s Joy Ann-Reid. This panel will discuss big-picture national trends impacting black workers, especially in the Deep South. Former and current labor leaders and activists will discuss the effects of this administration on civil rights, the shift in focus back to white male workers, alternative power for Black workers, and the power of narrative change. *Please note, this panel may not be video recorded or broadcast.*
Building Bridges Between German Corporations, the Civil Rights Movement, and Labor, moderated by Marc Bayard of the Black Worker Initiative. This panel, including DNC Chair Tom Perez, representatives from Adah International, Foundation for the Mid South, and the NAACP, will discuss German corporations in the Deep South and their relationship to the Black communities that live and work there. They will have a conversation about future partnerships and access to workforce skills and training in German companies for Black high school and college students.
WHO: Marc Bayard, Black Worker Initiative, Institute for Policy Studies
Clarence Lusane, Howard University
Alicia Garza, National Domestic Workers Alliance and Black Lives Matter
Kimberly Freeman Brown, Race and Gender Equity and Inclusion Consultant
Tamika Middleton, National Domestic Workers Alliance
Premilla Nadasen, Barnard College
Joan Samuel Lewis, We Dream in Black
Joy Ann-Reid, MSNBC
Carmen Berkley, Planned Parenthood
Tanya Wallace-Gobern, National Black Worker Center Project
Tom Perez, Democratic National Committee and former U.S. Secretary of Labor
Derrick Johnson, NAACP Mississippi
Nadja Dalberg, Adah International Inc.
Ivye L. Allen, Foundation for the Mid South
WHAT: State of Black Workers in America Conference to feature panels discussing most innovative organizing led by Black workers in the U.S. in the Trump era.
WHERE: Howard University School of Social Work
601 Howard Place NW
Washington, DC 20059
WHEN: June 7, 2017
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
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