Media Center

Reps. David Scott and John Lewis, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), and the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) will present a District-Level Forum (DLF) on Saturday, November 18, 2006 from 12:00 pm.-6:00 pm. The forum theme is “Unity, Education, Health and Wealth: It Takes a Healthy Village to Raise a Healthy Child.” The day-long event will be held at the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), 720 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, Georgia.

Funded by the Ford Foundation, this CBCF initiative encourages civic participation at the grassroots level while promoting a community-based learning experience model. The District Level Forums provide an opportunity for national and local leaders to discuss important policy issues with community residents. The event is free and open to the public.

“The DLF allows us to bring a taste of our Annual Legislative Conference, which is held in Washington each year, to the Atlanta area. Leading experts on financial literacy, education, and healthcare will share information and facilitate dialogue on issues critical to individual and community success,” said Dr. Elsie Scott, Interim President and CEO of the CBCF.

Dr. Ivory A. Toldson, CBCF Senior Research Analyst and Howard University Assistant Professor added, “The DLF in Atlanta will be an interactive, community-based learning experience that will engage community advocates, professionals and emerging leaders. We’re also providing networking opportunities with a reception and after-social called, Rhetoric! hosted by DC-based Momentum USA.”

Three panels will be presented. The first panel, “Live Long and Prosper,” will include Dr. Dennis Kimbro, national best-selling author of “Think and Grow Rich” and Dr. David Satcher, Poussaint-Satcher-Cosby Chair in Mental Health at MSM and former U.S. Surgeon General. The second panel, “Be Smart! Taking Control of Learning and Education in our Community,” will be moderated by Collins Spencer, Anchor, WSB-TV (ABC) Channel 2 Action News. Panelists include Dr. Asa Hilliard, Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Urban Education at Georgia State University, and Dr. Haki Madhubuti, Founder/President of Third World Press and Co-Founder of Betty Shabazz International Charter School in Chicago, IL.

The third panel, “Emerging Leaders Breakout: Promoting Healthy Behaviors and Leadership Among Young Men and Women,” will feature Orrin C. Hudson, a chess master who CNN dubbed “Pied Piper of Positivity,” and Jessica Care Moore, national award-winning poet, activist, and Moore Black Press CEO.

Morehouse School of Medicine’s Dr. LeRoy Reese, an Associate Professor and Dr. Daniel S. Blumenthal, Professor and Chair of the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, enthusiastically accepted the role of local liaisons for the Atlanta DLF. “It is events like this that will ultimately persuade individuals to become more involved with the development of public policy at the grassroots level,” said Dr. Reese. Dr. Blumenthal added, “Morehouse School of Medicine is the perfect forum to host an event that will encourage students, community members and experts to work together to empower our community.”

For additional information about the DLF event or to register call (866) 447-7103 or visit the CBCF website at www.cbcfinc.org.

CBCF was established in 1976, as a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research and educational institute. Our mission is to serve as the catalyst that educates future leaders, minority-focused organizational leaders, and organized labor to effect positive and sustainable change in the African American community.

The Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is a historically black institution established to recruit and train minority and other students as physicians, biomedical scientists, and public health professionals committed to the primary health care needs of the underserved. MSM is not affiliated with Morehouse College.