Sacramento Congress of African Peoples

Call To Action: “Seize the Moment”

Sacramento---The Sacramento Congress of African Peoples (CAP) in collaboration with a host of individuals and organizations (please see list of co-sponsors on page 2); will present the 2nd Annual Black Political Convention Saturday, September 20, 2008 from 9:00am to 5:00pm at Faith Fellowship Community Church, 5937 Watt Avenue, North Highlands, CA 95660. The convention is free and open to the public.

Purpose of the Convention: The convention will serve to inform the local Black population about offices, candidacies, ballot measures, and to lead to maximum involvement of Black people in the political process. Representatives of the various presidential campaigns, city council campaigns, school board campaigns, assembly campaigns, senate campaigns, congressional campaigns, and ballot measures will be present.

The Black Political Convention is a well-established practice in the United States. The first were national conventions held between 1830 and 1861 in what is frequently referred to as the "Black Convention Movement." An important Black convention was held in 1924 in Chicago. The National Negro Congress met between 1936 and 1940. In 1972 the National Black Assembly began meeting and drafted "The National Black Agenda" which became the legislative agenda of the Congressional Black Caucus. The National Black Assembly met in 1972, 1976, and 1980. The Black Convention movement has been well represented in California and Chicago. The first statewide Black convention was held in Sacramento in 1855. The second statewide Black convention was also held in Sacramento in 1856. In 1979 Del Paso Heights held a Black Convention which selected a candidate for the city council seat in district 2. The Summit of African American Concerns was an area wide convention held in 1990. We are following a well-established tradition.

The Sacramento Black Political Convention will have several original features:

· Proportional representation: The convention will announce the proportional votes of those in attendance
· for each candidate represented at the convention.
· Presentations by all candidates or their representatives who agree to participate.
· Opportunities for those present to vote for candidates of their choices and have the votes count, regardless of which candidate gets the most votes. The elections covered will be:
1 Presidential
2 Sacramento: Mayor, Selected Council Districts
3 Citrus Heights and Elk Grove
4 Selected School Districts, including SCUSD, Elk Grove, Folsom/Cordova, and Natomas Unified School District.
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Sacramento Black Political Convention 2008


Endorsers and Sponsors:
Black United Fund of Sacramento Valley
Black Women Organized for Political Action
The Black Group
All of Us or None
Congress of African People
Dr. David Covin
Kakwasi Somadhi
The Honorable Lauren Hammond
The International Women’s Business Forum
Sacramento NAACP
Sacramento Area Black Caucus
The Foundation for Human Empowerment, Inc
The Abdullah Islamic Foundation
Sharon Stoddard
Donna Banks
David & Denise DeLuz
Carl Pinkston
Mathilde Mukantabana
Chastity E. Benson
Faye Kennedy