Tenth District Congressman Donald
M. Payne, a past Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, will host
two forums during the upcoming Annual Legislative Conference sponsored
by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
Congressman Payne, a member of the House Committee on International
Relations and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, will
host panel discussions centering around challenges facing Africa and the
loss of jobs for African Americans in the film and television industry.
The theme of this year’s conference, which will be held from September
11th through September 14th at the Washington Convention Center, is “The
Congressional Black Caucus: The Voice for Global Understanding.”
On Friday, September 13th, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the
Washington Convention Center in Rooms 10 through 12, Congressman Payne
will hold a Foreign Affairs Braintrust entitled “A Blueprint for Africa's
Development: Six Degrees of Integration.” The topics of the
panels will be: Democracy and Conflict Resolution; Economic Development
and the Challenge of HIV/AIDS; and U.S. Assistance and Constituency Building.
Invited panelists include: Peter Piot, Director of UNAIDS; Susan Rice,
former Assistant Secretary of State for Africa; Francis Deng, Director,
Center for Internal Displacement Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies; Ibrahim Gambari, UN Under-Secretary-General/Special
Adviser on Africa; and Roger Winter, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for
Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance.
On Friday, September 13th, from 4 pm. to 6 p.m. in Room
37 of the Washington Convention Center, the Congressman will host a forum
entitled “Runaway Productions: Luring Film and Television Companies
Back to the U.S.”
The focus of the panel will be on the loss of jobs in the film and television
industry caused by moving film and television productions to areas such
as Canada and other foreign countries. In addition, the panel will address
the issue of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vertical integration
and its effect on diversity of viewpoint, or lack thereof, and minority
ownership. American citizens thereby lose the opportunity to
work in a highly desirable industry. The panel will highlight the
benefits of filming in the United States as well as examine several methods
that can be employed to encourage and entice production companies to continue
to film in this nation.
Invited panelists include: Mr. Paris Barclay, Vice President
of the Directors Guild of America and a director, writer, and producer;
Mr. Paris Qualles, member of the Writers Guild; Ms. Shelby Stone of Phippsy
Films, a producer; Mr. Don Kizzee of Dreamstreet Networks, an
actor, producer, and media consultant; and Mr. Frank Mercado-Valdes, Chairman
and CEO of The Heritage Networks.
“We are fortunate to have assembled such an outstanding
group of experts to discuss important challenges in their fields,” Congressman
Payne said. “I urge all of those who are attending the Annual Legislative
Conference to take advantage of these excellent panel discussions.”
The events are free and open to the public.
