Center for American Progress

ADVISORY: Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women and People of Color in American Politics
Press Advisory

ADVISORY: Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women and People of Color in American Politics

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Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday, October 8, the Center for American Progress will host a panel discussion on how to understand, address, and reverse the chronic underrepresentation of women and people of color in American politics, with keynote remarks from Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD).

Recently, the tragic shooting of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, captured national attention. Ferguson—a town that is more than 60 percent black but whose political power structure is overwhelmingly white—became a stark illustration of the ways our political leadership has not changed along with our country. During this time, the Reflective Democracy Campaign of the Women Donors Network completed a historic new database cataloging the race and gender of more than 40,000 elected office holders in the United States. The results from this unprecedented survey are unsettling—and the need for change has never been greater.

WHO:

Keynote speaker:
Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD)

Introductory remarks:
Winnie Stachelberg, Executive Vice President, External Affairs, Center for American Progress
Donna P. Hall, President and CEO, Women Donors Network

Featured speakers:
Brenda Choresi Carter, Director, Reflective Democracy Campaign
William Jelani Cobb, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Africana Studies Institute, University of Connecticut; Contributor, The New Yorker
Gloria A. Totten, President, Progressive Majority

Moderated by:
Judith Warner, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

WHEN:

Wednesday, October 8, 2014
12:30 p.m. ET – 2:00 p.m. ET

A light lunch will be served at 12:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, D.C., 20005

RSVP:

RSVP for this event

For more information, contact Chelsea Kiene at [email protected] or 202.478.5328.

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