Payne takes over CBCF Chairmanship

We do our best to keep apprised of the activities of our partners, and we recently noticed this item about the election of a new chair to head the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

WASHINGTON – The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) Board of Directors has elected Rep. Donald M. Payne of New Jersey as board chairman. Rep. Payne succeeds former chair Rep. Kendrick B. Meek who resigned from the Board to focus attention on his campaign for U.S. Senator.

Rep. Payne has served in Congress since 1989 and serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. He also is a member of two additional Subcommittees – International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight; and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. Rep. Payne is also a senior member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, where he serves on the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education; and the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

He served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1995-1996, and is serving his second term on the CBCF Board. “It is a privilege to serve as a chairman of the CBCF,” said Rep. Payne. “I look forward to working closely with the CBCF Board, the Corporate Advisory Council, and other friends and stakeholders to build upon and expand the incredible work being done through this organization.”

The Libraries helped the CBCF to develop AVOICE in 2006, a website that documents the congressional contributions of African Americans dating to the 1800s. Organized around virtual exhibits exploring themes such as the Voting Rights Act or the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday, the website provides historical context for each of the exhibits as well as access to primary documents, photographs, and media files related to each subject.

We congratulate Representative Payne, and wish him the best in his leadership of the CBCF.

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