Black Policy Conference in Review Dec 7

8/3/2019 Black Policy Conference in Review Dec 7

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The 7th Annual

Black Policy Conferenceat the Harvard Kennedy School

2011 Conference In Review



The 7th Annual Black Policy ConferenceSteering Committee

Welcome!

Akilah Robinson Ozzie SmithCo-Chair, Fundraising & Keynotes Co-Chair, Logistics & Panel Management

Gabrielle Wyatt Nathan Dial Vice Chair, Marketing & Outreach Vice Chair, Logistics

Over the past seven years, the Black Policy Conference has grown into aleading policy-driven forum addressing issues that affect communities within Africa and the African Diaspora at large. Our backdrop is the renownHarvard Kennedy School, where students and faculty are dedicated to themission of the school: to train enlightened public leaders and generate theideas that provide solutions to our most challenging public problems.

The 7th annual Black Policy Conference, “Igniting the Flame: Reunite |Revitalize |Realize,” strived to reunite the African Diaspora and revitalizea coherent policy agenda in order to realize sustainable outcomes. The 2011Conference in Review seeks to capture the dialogue between our conferencekeynotes, panelists, and participants, as well as provide a number of real- world examples of policy solutions that can work from the ground-up inorder to address the challenges facing Black communities today.

It is our hope that the 2011 Conference in Review continues to spark creative

conversations about how to energize students, alumni, faculty, and policy practitioners in becoming passionately involved in improving Black communities around the world, while acknowledging the strength in theunity of the Diaspora. Thank you for taking time to join our effort and welook forward to seeing you at the 8th annual Black Policy Conference!



History and Mission

The Black Policy Conference at the Harvard Kennedy School was createdmany years ago, but sadly faded shortly after. In 2005, Nicole Campbell(MPP ’05) resurrected the idea and its second incarnation began. Theconference was born out of the desire to create a lasting institutionallegacy for black students on the campus, a homecoming for alumni, and anopen exchange of ideas. Today, the Black Policy Conference provides anopportunity for the convergence of the world’s greatest minds andpractitioners with the hope and intent of finding solutions for issues facingBlack communities around the world.

The Black Policy Conference strives to:• Enrich the dialogue at Harvard and beyond surrounding Black issues;• Build a sustainable network among current students, alumni, faculty,

and policy practitioners;• Create innovative ideas and share best practices for addressing policy

issues that affect Africa and the African Diaspora; and• Inspire individuals to be engaged in the policymaking process.

Pictured above: Tom Burrell, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Burrell Communications



Friday, April 8, 2010 A Conversation with the Honorable Susan Rice,

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

Moderated by Michele Martin, Host of NPR’s Tell Me More

Saturday, April 9, 2010 Morning Panels:

Health Policy & International Policy

Luncheon: A Discussion with U.S. Mayors

Kasim Reed & Adrian Fenty

Afternoon Panels:Education Policy & Media Policy

Closing Banquet:Keynote Address by

Michelle Alexander, Civil Rights Lawyer and Advocate,Author of The New Jim Crow

Honorees: Andress Appolon and

Brigadier General Charles Hooper

Conference Overview



“There is no doctrine in my judgment. There’s no cookie cutter answer that you can apply to every circumstance; it was possible to act and right to act.” - Susan Rice on the decision to intervene in Libya

A Discussion with the Honorable Susan Rice

As our keynote speaker for the 7 th Annual Black Policy Conference, the Honorable Susan Rice discussedU.S. involvement in Libya and the Ivory Coast, the roots of her interest in international affairs and publicservice, and how she, as an African American and as a female, has navigated her career, among othertopics.

Key Takeaways

• On humanitarian intervention. Ambassador Rice emphasized that while there is no doctrine of humanitarian intervention, the decision to intervene in Libya was the right decision, especially givenMuammar Qaddafi’s record of atrocities against his own people, the eminent murders of the people of Benghazi, and the Arab League’s plea for international help to protect the Libyan citizens.

• On her roots in public service. Her interest in public service has been life-long. She was born andraised in Washington, D.C. to parents who were very public service-oriented, and went to Oxford as aRhodes Scholar to study something outside of her comfort zone – international relations. FromOxford, her career led her into the private sector at McKinsey, but ultimately back to the public sector, working on the Michael Dukakis’ presidential campaign in 1988 and to the National Security Councilunder former President Bill Clinton.

• On navigating her career. Like others, Rice worried early in her career that showing interest in Africa-related issues might pigeonhole her. As a result, she initially declined the position of Directorin the Office of African Affairs on the National Security Council. After working on UN peacekeepingmissions, Rice accepted the position, noting that her interest in Africa was “not a starting point, but anevolution” and that ultimately, individuals should “follow their passion,” wherever it leads.



Health Policy Panel

Obesity in the Black Community: Where do we

stand and where can we go?

PanelistsDr. Gary G. Bennett,

Associate Professor of Psychology and Global Health, Duke University

Dr. Deborah Cohen,Senior Natural Scientist at the

RAND Corporation

George Khaldun,Chief Administrative Officer,

Harlem Children’s Zone

Dr. Melicia Whitt-Glover,President & CEO of Gramercy

Research Group

Shavon Arline,National Director of the Health

Program, NAACP

Key Takeaways

•On the roles of the human psyche and environments. Influenced by her background in psychology, Dr.Cohen focused on the interaction between our psyche and our environments which are often dominated by concepts of consumerism, overabundance, and instant gratification. She explained the mentalprocesses we go through when deciding what to eat, arguing that it is disconcertingly easy to make poorchoices, and extremely difficult to make healthy choices. In this discussion, Cohen invoked concernsabout health-food availability and exercise accessibility, and noted that communities are organized in ways that lead to unhealthy eating habits.

• On the role of social and cultural norms. Panelists discussed consumerism in the African Americancommunity as one aspect that helps account for the disproportionate onset of obesity in Black communities. The existence of social and cultural norms shape how we engage in capitalist society. Dr. Whitt-Glover challenged the panel to examine socio-cultural norms that prevail specifically in the African American community – conflicting messages such as the American/human value of health, the emphasison a woman being "thick," and the negative connotations of skinniness in black popular culture.

•On combating childhood obesity. Coming from the NAACP, Arline focused her discussion on ways toengage civic minded Black citizens to address childhood obesity as a civil rights issue. Here panelistsagreed that obesity in children is a significant concern because people who struggle with obesity in theiradolescence are very likely to be obese in adulthood. Looking through this lens, Arline suggested activismand education as the solutions, encouraging community organizing and the use of intentional messaging

as tools to increase access to healthy foods.

“If a healthy choice is easy,how do we fight the

constant factors that stillovershadow it?”

- Dr. Melicia Whitt-Glover



“When you are workingoverseas people are goingto look at you on a basis of

what you can do as anindividual. Race becomes

less important. Nationality becomes less important.”

- Julius Coles

International Policy Panel

The Role of Blacks inForeign Service

PanelistsCarleene Dei,

Haiti Mission Director, USAID

Julius Coles,Director of Global Education,

Andrew Young Center forInternational Affairs

Emmanuel Nouga-Ngog,Senior Subject Matter Expert, U.S.- Africa Security Relations, Pacific

Architects and Engineers

Key Takeaways

•On the role of identity in foreign service. As African American officers working in foreign service, bothColes and Dei observed they were viewed principally as Americans. Both panelists postulated that theconcept of race looms larger in the American than in that of most other societies in the world. Thus, African Americans think differently, and more frequently about race than people from different nations –nations with separate race relations and racialized histories. With this in mind, he advises African Americans to understand that contrary to the situation at home, when abroad they will not be viewed firstas African Americans, but as Americans.

• On the presence of Blacks in foreign service. Panelists discussed how socioeconomic inequalities have asignificant impact on the numbers of Blacks in foreign policy. Coles indicated that only in the past decadeor two has American foreign policy begun to branch away from its long tradition of domination by elite, white males. Thus there have certainly been gains and improvements made; by Coles’ approximation, African American representation in American foreign officials has increased from 6 percent in 1950 to 13percent in 2009. However, he noted that it will take more time for people of color to have a true impact(especially numerically) in foreign policy.

•On changing the international debate. Nouga-Ngog proposed that we shift the debate on internationaleconomic competition to one of international cooperation to find “ a win-win situation under which ourrespective countries find more opportunities, understanding that military and governmental institutionscannot create jobs for the entire...country .” He thus also sees a need to encourage entrepreneurship and

private sector growth in America, and especially in the African American community, the racial bracketcurrently showing the lowest rates of entrepreneurial growth.



Managing DynamicCities in Challenging

Times

PanelistsKasim Reed, Mayor of

Atlanta

Adrian Fenty, Former Mayorof Washington, D.C.

ModeratorDwight Hutchins, Global

Managing Director, Accenture

A Discussion with U.S. Mayors

Key Takeaways

•On economic development. Fenty pointed out that one of themost significant economic development challenges in D.C. isthat new jobs often go to people outside the city. While heacknowledged that part of the solution is to do more to ensureD.C. residents are hired in the short term, Fenty asserted thatthe more challenging and rewarding endeavor is improving thecity’s educational systems for the long run. This logic led Fenty to focus his energies on improving schools first and foremost,taking full control of the school system as one of his first acts inoffice.

•On change leadership. Before making radical changes, Reedadvised that it is important to earn the trust of your employeesand the community by not firing people immediately beforemaking radical changes. Reed also emphasized the need to treat

the Governor and the legislative branch as consistent partners, warning that the consequences can be severe.

•On managing dynamic cities. Both Reed and Fenty agreed thata mayor has to be politically strong enough to be able to makethe right choice between what is right and what is politically expedient, and that involvement in the school system is animperative.



“Our charge as acommunity is to look forthis media and supportit...media that presents

black people in humanisticand holistic ways.”

- Moikgantsi Kgama

Media Policy Panel

Telling Stories: Black MediaMakers, Youth Consumption,

and Accountability

PanelistsTom Burrell,

Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Burrell Communications

Jeanette Foreman,Jeanette Foreman & Associates of

Chicago & Atlanta

Moikgantsi Kgama,Founder & Executive Director,

ImageNation Cinema Foundation

Beretta Smith-Shomade,Media Studies Associate Professor,

Tulane University

Key Takeaways

•On the historical portrayal of African Americans in the media. All participants in the panel agreed thatin today's digital world as well as in the past, media plays a significant role in reinforcing negativestereotypes of black people, established centuries ago during slavery.

•On counteracting negative media messaging. Burrell argued that there is no force more powerful inaffecting attitudes and behavior than media messaging and propaganda. For Burrell, our presentcollective inability to recognize and counteract negative imagery is due to the fact that blacks, as acommunity, are entertained by their own pathologies. He urges the black community to speak out andforce mainstream media producers to depict more realistic, and constructive images of black people.

•On the need for Black media makers. Kgama suggested that we need not fight to remove negative imagesput forth by the mainstream, but should instead focus on what we as the black community produce. Sheplaces the onus for change on black filmmakers, writers, and producers, and responsibility with the black populous to support these positive artists in their efforts.

•On the importance of media literacy. Smith-Shomade emphasized the importance of media literacy –understanding the complexity of what we see and how to navigate these images, and the importance of being conscious of the media we consume and produce, and how we are affected by it.

•On raising awareness. Foreman stressed the importance of understanding all dimensions of the mediaindustry and understanding the war being waged against positive black consciousness and the prevalence

of negative images in the media act as a sort of "self-fulfilling prophecy." For her, the main task is to gainunderstanding and raise awareness about how the system is constructed and how we can counterbalanceit at its foundation.



Education Policy Panel

How is Today’s Reform ClimateUltimately Serving Black

Children and Communities?

PanelistsRobert C. Bobb,

Emergency Financial Manager,Detroit Public Schools

Courtney English,Managing Director of Program and

Development, ChildfirstUSA

Kaya Henderson,Chancellor, D.C. Public Schools

Antonio Saunders,Founder & CEO, Seventh Sourou

Gentlemen’s Academy

Key Takeaways

•On shutting down schools. Henderson asserted that policymakers need to be bold enough to do what is best for the kids – even if it is unpopular in the short-term. For example, policymakers must have thecourage to shut down underperforming, unfilled schools if that money could be used for better projects.She acknowledged that the country has finally awoken to the educational challenges we face, but pointedout that, “we are treating this [education reform] as a fix as opposed to our general obligation toeducation as the great equalizer.”

•On early childhood education. Bobb emphasized that the solution to closing the achievement gap mustaddress the preparation gap – black students are beginning behind their white peers before they enterschools. He stated: “The issue of children and their needs begin before those children arrive at ourschoolhouse doors.” Beyond early childhood education, the panelists also agreed that teacher quality,accountability, and parental involvement are important components of the solution.

•On enacting school reform. The panelists pointed out that while not all, but many of the answers to thechallenges we face in education have been identified, we are still collectively lacking the institutionalcapacity to act. There is enormous power in the current professional structures within education and incurrent education laws and regulations.

“You have to have thecourage to make decisionsso that you can actually do

what is right for kids.”- Kaya Henderson



“It has been the refusal and failure to recognize the dignity and humanity of all people that has served as a sturdy

foundation for every caste system that has ever existed in the United States or anywhere else in the world.

It is our task…to end this history and cycle of caste in America.” - Michelle Alexander

Keynote Address by Michelle Alexander

Key Takeaways

• On our current context and progress. Alexander disagrees with the contentionthat much has changed since the civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther

King, Jr. and others. She feels that this approach to black narrative implies that we are on the right path and that if we continue, then we will ultimately realizeKing’s dream and reach “the promise land.”

•On the “New Jim Crow.” She asserted that a vast racial under-caste now existsin our country. Today, more African American adults operate undercorrectional control than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before Civil War. A young black man is more likely to go to jail than to graduate from college. Moregovernment funding flows to drug enforcement and police agencies than to American schools.

•On how to move forward. Alexander emphasized that dismantling the systemof mass incarceration in America should be at the forefront of all civil rights

agendas for it will take nothing short of a revolution – a movement of civicawakening, engagement and protest – to achieve this end.



Honorees

At the Saturday Closing Banquet, the Black Policy Conference honored two phenomenal

members of the Harvard Kennedy SchoolCommunity.

Congratulations to:

Andress Appolon,Julius E. Babbitt Alumni Service Award

Recipient

and

Brigadier General Charles Hooper,Donald M. Steward Alumni Achievement

Award Recipient

Both honorees, through deed and action,reflect the ideals of the Harvard Kennedy

School. They have modeled public service bothinside and outside of the work environment,

contributing their time and talents to the benefit of the greater public.

Thank you for your continued commitment topublic service, the Harvard Kennedy School,

and communities of color! Pictured above: Donald Stewart, Andress Appolon, and Brigadier Hooper with the BPC Steering Committee



Looking Forward

In 2010, the 6th annual Black Policy Conference led a call to action for black people around the world to mobilize as a collective. Theconference focused on the crossroads between policy and action,discussing the inherent value and power of the actions of individualcitizens, while also hearing from policymakers, practitioners, and

community leaders who are inspiring collective action.

The 7th annual Black Policy Conference sought to reunite the variouscollective movements in the Diaspora. The conference focused onrevitalizing a coherent policy agenda by providing a number of real- world examples of policy solutions that can work from the ground-upin order to address the challenges facing Black communities today.

Today, in the aftermath of the global recession, it has become evidentthat inequalities in education, employment, healthcare, and civicparticipation are not only faced by communities of African descent, but by other minority populations as well. At the same time, minority

populations are growing around the globe and finding innovativesolutions to challenges facing their communities.

Looking forward, the Diaspora should continue to celebrate the Black community’s heritage of perseverance and leadership, and recognizethe shared experiences of communities of color, in order to developcollaborative and sustainable solutions for Black and othercommunities of color.

Pictured above: Michelle Alexander with student representatives from Howard University



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