Honoring the 50th anniversary of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 1263 Honoring the 50th anniversary of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 15, 2020 Ms. JOHNSON of Texas submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform RESOLUTION Honoring the 50th anniversary of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Whereas the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘Joint Center’’) is a national nonprofit institution that conducts research on public policy issues of special concern to Black Americans and promotes informed and effective involvement of Black people in the governmental process; Whereas, founded in 1970, the Joint Center provides inde- pendent and nonpartisan analyses through research, pub- lication, and outreach programs; Whereas the Joint Center was the first of its kind when it was founded, serving as America’s primary Black think tank; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1263.IH HR1263 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 1263 IH Whereas, in 1972, Mr. Eddie Williams was recruited to lead the Joint Center, after the organization had been found- ed just 2 years earlier to support the hundreds of new Black elected officials who came into office in the after- math of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; Whereas, over the next 3 decades, Mr. Williams built the Joint Center into the epicenter of Black political thought and research and hosted Black elected officials every 4 years to assemble policy priorities to share with Presi- dential candidates and transition teams; Whereas, under the leadership of Mr. Williams, the Joint Center helped establish several organizations of Black elected officials, built a roster of over 10,000 Black elect- ed officials, and helped establish the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation; Whereas Mr. Williams also created Focus Magazine to tie to- gether Black elected officials, political activists, and scholars nationwide; Whereas the Joint Center became a full-fledged think tank with Mr. Williams at the helm, commissioned and pub- lished regular surveys of Black Americans, and produced various studies, reports, books, and events; Whereas top scholars like John Hope Franklin, Mary Frances Berry, Kenneth Clark, Chris Edley, David Garrow, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Ron Walters, and William Julius Wilson have worked with the Joint Cen- ter; Whereas, under the current leadership of Spencer Overton, the current president, the Joint Center has remained a consistent presence in the application and advancement VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1263.IH HR1263 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 1263 IH of empirics-based policies supporting strategies to ad- vance Black America; Whereas the Joint Center plays a critical role in keeping our leaders properly informed and educated on the issues that Black Americans face daily; Whereas, just last year, the Joint Center was credited for several efforts to achieve diversity in the workforce, in- cluding— (1) bringing increased awareness to congressional staff diversity, culminating with the establishment of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the House of Rep- resentatives; and (2) encouraging companies to consider the future of their work through a racial equity lens; and Whereas, over the last 50 years, the Joint Center has suc- cessfully convened leaders of major cities to discuss work- force modernization in Black communities: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That— 1 (1) the work of the Joint Center for Political 2 and Economic Studies is more relevant and nec- 3 essary now than ever before in the face of a global 4 pandemic that is disproportionately affecting Black 5 Americans’ health outcomes and economic security; 6 and 7 (2) the House of Representatives— 8 (A) honors the Joint Center for Political 9 and Economic Studies for their successes over 10 the years; and 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1263.IH HR1263 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 1263 IH (B) reaffirms its commitment to working 1 alongside the Joint Center for Political and 2 Economic Studies and others to advance ideas 3 and policies that promote, uplift, and enrich the 4 Black community and all of America. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR1263.IH HR1263 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS