SUMMARY OF THE CBC INSTITUTE'S MISSISSIPPI POLICY CONFERENCE- TUNICA 2009 (August 13-16, 2009)
Each year, the CBC Institute holds its premier policy conference in Tunica, Mississippi. This year's conference - Tunica 2009 marked the tenth year for Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (Chair of the CBC Institute) to host the conference in his home state.
Tunica 2009 is representative of the CBC Insititute's ongoing commitment to meeting its overall mission-educating today's voters and training tomorrow's leaders. The policy sessions and luncheons provided a perfect opportunity for a cross section of committed individuals, including: community leaders, state and locally elelcted officials, private sector leaders, labor leaders, academics and government officials to join in discussions with Members of Congress and highly qualified issue specific experts.
Policy Sessions are strategically designed to bring clarity and elicit diverse thoughts on issues which impact and affect the quality of life in minority communities specifically, and all Americans in general. These sessions were primarily directed towards identification of workable solutions to today's problems, and according to participants--were especially timely and extremely informative. Topics included the 2010 Census, healthcare reform, energy and environment as well as the President's Economic Stimulus plan and the new economy. There were also workshops on disaster mitigation and the challenges facing the black farmer. The Saturday policy luncheon provided a much needed discussion on security in public schools--more prominent now due to isolated incidents of violence and the growth in youth gangs.
The following is a select compilation of information shared at the policy sessions: