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Nov 27, 2012
LETTER TO THE SENATE: Black Women's Roundtable Unites a Diverse Group of Women Leaders and Organizations in Show of Support for United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice
Dear Chairman Feinstein and Ranking Member Chambliss:
On behalf of the Black Women’s Roundtable, in partnership with the legion of strong women leaders and organizations across this nation, we write to express our unequivocal support and respect for United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice as a leader and representative of the United States in foreign policy.
Ambassador Rice has been and continues to be a role model to all women. She has excelled throughout her career both in the public and private sector. Her commitment to international peace and the equality of all people should be heralded, not summarily dismissed for political gain and expedience. Hence, we urge all U. S. Senators to afford Ambassador Rice the proper respect appropriate for any other Cabinet-level member of a sitting Administration.
The Black Women’s Roundtable comprises an intergenerational membership of Black women civic leaders of international, national, regional and state-based organizations and institutions that works collectively to advance policies and strategic initiatives that help to improve the lives of underserved women and girls. Our members work in a wide range of social justice, civic, corporate, labor and women’s organizations and we support the ability of our sisters in the public and private sector to excel in their areas of expertise.
It is within this context that we must highlight the accomplishments of Ambassador Rice, who represents a rich and important legacy of strong women leaders in foreign policy, such as former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice, and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ambassador Rice’s credentials are above reproach, having previously served as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House.
It is a testament to Ambassador Rice’s work ethic and dedication to her craft that she became one of the youngest assistant secretaries of state in history during the Clinton Administration and ultimately became a co-recipient of the White House’s 2000 Samuel Nelson Drew Memorial Award for distinguished contributions to the formation of peaceful, cooperative relationships between states.
We feel it necessary to remind the Senate of Ambassador Rice’s impeccable credentials because of the failure of some to respect her role as the United States Ambassador and leader in foreign policy. While some members of the Senate have pushed back on their rush to judgment in the press regarding Ambassador Rice’s prepared remarks on the attack in Benghazi, we feel that the public integrity and reputation of this brilliant woman, who serves our country with great dignity, has been unfairly and unnecessarily attacked.
Ambassador Rice’s leadership in President Obama’s Cabinet is commendable. It is for this reason that we, the undersigned, have come together representing women leaders from across this country to express our ardent support for Ambassador Rice in her role as ambassador to the United Nations and any other public service leadership roles she may be afforded in the future.
We look forward to following-up with you on our support of Ambassador Rice.
Sincerely,
Melanie L. Campbell, President & CEO and Convener, Black Women’s Roundtable, NCBCP
Rev. Marcia Dyson, Partner, M & M Dyson, LLC
Ingrid Saunders Jones, Chair, National Council of Negro Women
Susan L. Taylor, CEO and Founder, National CARES Mentoring Movement Editor-in-Chief Emerita, Essence Magazine
Susan Scanlan Chair,, National Council of Women's Organizations & President, Women's Research & Education Institute
Faye M. Anderson, Founder, Tracking Change
Angela M. Angel,, Esq. Member, Black Women's Roundtable
Barbara R. Arnwine,, Esq. Convener, Black Women for Justice
Diane Babineaux, Chief of Staff to the Int’l President, International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Works
Arlene Holt Baker, Executive Vice President, AFL-CIO
Monifa Bandele, Campaign Director, MomsRising.org
Cora Masters Barry, Former First Lady Washington DC CEO/Founder, RWLC
Lisa Fager Bediako, President & CEO, Industry Ears
Dr. Lezli Baskerville, President & CEO, NAFEO
Dr. Michelle Battle, Executive Director, MIRA-National Youth Initiative
Salandra Benton, Convener, Florida Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Jillian Blackwell, Founder, My Girlfriends Business
Heather Booth, Democracy Partner
Donna Brazile Vice Chair Voter Registration and Participation, DNC
Roslyn Brock Chairman, NAACP
Clayola Brown President & CEO, A. Philip Randolph Institute
Jessica Brown, National Black Youth Vote! Coordinator, NCBCP
Latosha Brown, Principal, TruthSpeaks Consulting
Helen Butler, Executive Director, Coalition for the People’s Agenda
Cynthia M. A. Butler McIntyre, National President, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Yvonne V. Cook, Assistant to the Provost And Vice President for Academic Affairs, Coppin State University
ShaRhonda Dawson Director, Chicago Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Edrea Davis Producer, DogonVillage.com
Felicia Davis Director, UNCF SP Building Green*
LaKimba B. DeSadier Executive Director, National Black Caucus of State Legislators
Vivica A. Fox President, Foxy Brown Productions
Sandra Fowler, President & CEO, Brewton Enterprises
Dr. Natalia A. Francisco, Founder/Executive Director, Women of Worth & Worship, LLC
Andrea Gleaves Chair, WIN (Women's Information Network)
Patricia Green, Founder & Chief Strategist, IC Linkages, Inc.
Dr. Cynthia Hale, Senior Pastor, Ray of Hope Christian Church Decatur, GA
Chanelle Hardy, Senior Vice President for Policy, National Urban League
Nancy Harvin, Member, Black Women’s Roundtable
Bonita M. Herring, International Grand Basileus, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority
Dr. Patricia Hobson Chair,, Local Host Summit Committee, The Black Women's Roundtable
Tanya Clay House Chair, Civil Rights Law National Bar Association
Eleanor Hinton Hoytt President & CEO, Black Women’s Health Imperative
Janaye Ingram, DC Bureau Chief, National Action Network
Dorothy R. Jackson, Esq., Board Member, NCBCP
Letetia Daniels Jackson, President/CEO, Tandeka LLC
Dr. Sabrina Jackson, CEO, Sabrina Jackson Enterprises, Michigan
Dr. Lorretta Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer, American Federation of Teachers
Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever, Executive Director, National Council of Negro Women
Stephanie Jones, President, Stephanie Jones Strategies
Carol Joyner, National Political Director, Labor Project for Working Families
Nancy K. Kaufman, CEO, National Council of Jewish Women
Julian B. Kiganda, President, African Diaspora for Change
Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO, The King Center
Nicole Lee, President, TransAfrica Forum*
Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks, Executive Director/CEO, National Black Justice Coalition
Dr. Evelyn Gibson Lowery, President, SCLC/W.O.M.E.N. Inc.
Leslie Watson Malachi, Director, African American Ministers in Action
Tamika Mallory, National Executive Director, National Action Network
Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Founder, Last Word Productions, Inc.
Barbara Miller, Professor of Anthropology & International Affairs and Director, Institute for Global & International Studies, The Elliott School of International Affairs George Washington University
Dr. Judith C. Moore, Executive Director, Sisters Saving Ourselves NOW Pastor, First AME Church-Clairton, PA
Minyon Moore, Former Assistant to the President Bill Clinton and Director , Public Liaison
Karen Mulhauser, President, Mulhauser and Associates
Claire A. Nelson, Ph.D., Founder & President Institute of Caribbean Studies
Sophia A. Nelson, Esq., Author Black Woman, Redefined Journalist, Speaker
Sima Osdoby, Consulting Democracy, Governance and Civil Society
Terry O’Neill, President, National Organization for Women
Kimberly Otis, Senior Advisor, Center for Partnership Studies, Director, Caring Economy Campaign
Stephanie Parker-Weaver, Founding President and CEO, Rebirth Alliance and Co-Convener, MCBCP
Barbara A. Perkins, President, International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute
Amy Pritchard, Principle Mission Control and President, Democratic GAIN
Rene Redwood, CEO, Redwood Enterprise, LLC
Deidra Reese, State Coordinator, Ohio Unity Coalition
Jena Roscoe, SVP, Government Relations, Public Policy, Operation HOPE
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and Co-Founder,MomsRising.org
Deborah Robinson, Convener, MS Black Women’s Roundtable, Co-Convener, MSCBP
Delisa Saunders,, Ph.D. Former Board Member, NCBCP
Rita Jackson Samuels,, Founder, Georgia Coalition of Black Women, Inc.
Carlottia Scott, Board Member, NCBCP
Deborah Scott, Executive Director, Georgia Stand Up!
Elsie L. Scott, Ph.D. Director, Ronald Walters Leadership & Public Policy Center,Howard University*
Kimberly Scott, President, Conklin Scott
Karen J. See, President, Coalition of Labor Union Women
Traci Siegel, Senior Vice President, GMMB
Dr. Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich, President & CEO, Center for Community & Economic Justice
Makeda Smith, President, Jazzmyne PR
Carolyn House Stewart,, Esq. International President, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc
Pierrette Talley, Convener, Ohio Unity Coalition
Makani Themba, Executive Director, The Praxis Project
Sheila Tyson, Convener, Alabama Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Tonya Tyson, Member, Black Women’s Roundtable
A. Shuanise Washington, Founder and Principal Washington Solutions, LLC Management & Political Consulting Firm
Robin Williams, Associate Director, Civil Rights & Community Action UFCW
Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, President, Skinner Leadership Institute
Dr. E. Faye Williams National Chair, National Congress of Black Women
Thomasina Williams, Esq. Research Affiliate, MIT Community Innovators Lab
Vanessa Williams Executive Director, National Conference of Black Mayors
Linda Young, President, National Women’s Political Caucus
Sharon Zimmerman Interim Executive Director, Women’s Action for New Directions
[Partial Listing] *organization referenced for identification purposes only.
cc:
The Honorable Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader
The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader
The Honorable John Boehner, Speaker, U. S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, U. S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Emanuel Cleaver, Chairman, Congressional Black Caucus
The Honorable Marcia Fudge, Chair-Elect, Congressional Black Caucus
The Honorable Cynthia Lummis, Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues
The Honorable Gwen Moore, Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues
