Page 22 - 100 Day Report-2021

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100 Day Report
100 Day Report
PUBLIC POLICY
Archon Roderick D. Hall
Vision Statement
The Grand Public Policy Committee shall pro- vide essential information for the edification of Archons and vigorously support the Fraternity’s substantive role in shaping national public policy debates on issues of particular import to African Americans and their communities.
Charge
The Grand Public Policy Committee shall formu- late for approval by the Grand Boulé and Execu- tive Committee of the Grand Boulé appropriate positions of public policy issues for the general edification of Archons and where appropriate, for action by the Fraternity and its member boulés.
Activities
Over the course of the first 100 days, the com- mittee, comprised of two appointees from each region undertook the following activities:
• Transmitted to the U.S. House and U.S. Senate Judiciary Committees two resolutions adop- ted during the 55th Grand Boulé expressing support for: the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore the full protections of the original, bipartisan Voting Rights Act of
1965 that was last reauthorized by Congress in 2006, but gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013; and the George Floyd Justice in Poli- cing Act, which addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practi- ces and law enforcement accountability.
•Initiated strategic partnership and a Memo- randum of Understanding between the Fra- ternity and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee). The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee is to secure equal justice for all through the rule of law, targeting in particular the inequi- ties confronting African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities. The Lawyers’ Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit orga- nization, formed in 1963 at the request of Pre- sident John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar’s leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequa- lity of opportunity – work that continues to be vital today.
•Coordinated a Grand Boulé Election Protec- tion Webinar (open to Archons, Archousai and YACS) announcing the strategic partnership with the Lawyers’ Committee with respect to Election Protection in the 2020 Election Cycle. This meaningful initiative is meant to honor and pay tribute to the late U.S Repre- sentative John R. Lewis, civil rights icon and esteemed member of Sigma Pi Phi, in addi- tion to working to ensure the voices of the American people, via their vote, are heard, registered and protected on November 3.
Participants included: U.S. Representatives and Archousai Joyce Beatty (D-OH) and Val Demings (D-FL); Damon Hewitt, executive vice president of the Lawyers’ Committee; Thomas Hicks, Commissioner with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission; and Ellen Weintraub, Commissio- ner with the U.S. Federal Elections Commission.