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More than 800 people are expected to attend the second annual Ongoing Covenant with Black Iowa Summit this weekend in Waterloo.
“We just want everybody to come and participate in the summit,” said Abraham Funchess, division administrator of the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans. “We hope that people will appreciate the caliber of speakers we have.”
The goal of the two-day summit, which is free and begins Friday, is to pull together blacks from across the state to discuss and brainstorm solutions to the problems affecting them. The summit comes at a time when public outcry and mobilization has grown in response to the state’s high black prison rate and the disproportionate suspensions of black students, two of several problems plaguing Iowa’s blacks.
The summit begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9 at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center. Saturday’s events will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at West High School.
Friday’s keynote speakers include Rev. Mary Robinson, pastor of All Nations Community Church in Waterloo, who helped to establish the commission in the 1980s; and Diana Daniels, president of the National Council on Educating Black Children based in Indianapolis.
Saturday`s event will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lt. Gov. Patty Judge is slated to give opening remarks. Keynote speakers include Dr. Manning Marable from Columbia University; Dr. Willie Legette from South Carolina State University; and Dr. Claud Anderson, of the Harvest Institute and author of the book “PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America.” Dem Boyz Step Team, stars of the movie “Stomp The Yard” will also perform and conduct an educational workshop with children.
“You’ll be inspired and motivated by speakers who have been studying these issues,” Funchess said. “Hopefully as we listen to them we can learn about different ways we can do better.”
The Ongoing Covenant with Black Iowa is a five-year plan centered on improving the outcomes for blacks in the areas of education, youth, economic development, political involvement, spirituality, justice issues, housing and health care. The plan focuses on 10 cities including Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Davenport, Dubuque, Sioux City, Fort Madison, Burlington, Iowa City and Fort Dodge.
About 170 people attended last year’s summit, which was held at Des Moines’ East High School.
Discussions at the summit will focus on politics, the criminal justice system and mental health care issues. Funchess said blacks must become more politically motivated. With the abundance of presidential candidates campaigning in Iowa, issues affecting blacks now have a national platform, he said. Even though blacks comprise just 2.3 percent of Iowa’s population, blacks can make a big difference during the upcoming caucuses in January if “we can galvanize,” he said.
“While we need to talk about racism, because that obviously makes a huge difference in black life,” Funchess said. “We don’t want to be obsessed with racism or oppression as if we’re trying to learn about it. We study it to understand what the keys are to our own liberation.”
Several announcements will be made during the summit, Funchess said, including;
* A partnership between the commission and The Black Male Initiative at Iowa State University.
* A new statewide push to get black youths involved in the NAACP and its Act-So program. Des Moines organizers have struggled to find black teens to compete in the academic event.
* Organizing a “Blackout Day” held during February’s Black History Month to encourage hundreds of blacks to converge on the capitol and discuss the issues facing them and urge Iowa legislators to pay for projects to combat the problems.
* The roster of community leaders who will work on the plan in the 10 target cities.
Participants are being encouraged to submit ideas on how to fix the problems affecting blacks. The proposals will be collected during the summit, and the commission will work to secure money from the Iowa legislature to implement the ideas.
“What we want people to appreciate about the Ongoing Covenant with Black Iowa is – what can we do to help ourselves move forward?” Funchess said. “What are the keys to our liberation? That is certainly a message we want people to leave with.”
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