Lincoln Bicentennial Cabinet Role
The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (ALBC) organized the Lincoln Bicentennial Cabinet to ensure a celebration worthy of Lincoln’s highest achievements and to expand the Commission’s reach to all parts of the nation. Members of the Lincoln Cabinet will work with the Commissioners to create civic and cultural partnerships that promote understanding of the Lincoln legacy. Lincoln Cabinet members will raise funds and build a circle of individual and corporate donors to support Commission productions.
Lincoln Bicentennial Cabinet Leadership
The Lincoln Bicentennial Cabinet is co-chaired by former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp and former Congressman William H. Gray III.
Jack Kemp was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the administration of President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, after representing Buffalo, NY, in the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 years. In 1996, he was the Republican party’s vice presidential nominee. Before his election to Congress in 1970, Kemp played quarterback for several professional football teams for 13 years, leading the Buffalo Bills to the American Football League championship in 1964 and 1965. He is currently the chairman of Kemp Partners, a strategic consulting firm he founded in 2002.
William H. Gray III represented Philadelphia in the U. S. House of Representatives for 13 years, becoming the first African American to chair the powerful House Budget Committee. He also served as House Majority Whip. In 1991 Gray became president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund. In 13 years, he led the UNCF to new fund-raising records, including a successful $280 million capital campaign. He is currently chairman of the Amani Group, a business and education advisory group.
Lincoln Bicentennial Cabinet Responsibilities Include:
- Collaborate with Commissioners, staff, state liaisons, advisers, and cultural and civic partners to produce a Lincoln Bicentennial reflective of Lincoln’s highest achievements.
- Identify and recruit Lincoln Bicentennial Cabinet Members.
- Make a personally significant gift to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation.
- Host donor special events.
- Communicate the Lincoln story and the Bicentennial Commission’s congressional mandate to corporate leaders.
A Public Private Partnership
Congress established the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission on the premise that it would function as a public-private partnership. Congress has appropriated funds to support the Commission’s administration. Private funding is necessary, however, to produce the many programs, events and materials planned by the Commission. The Commission organized the Lincoln Bicentennial Cabinet to ensure the success of this public-private partnership.
