Marcia Fudge

Marcia Fudge

Template:TOCnestleft Marcia L. Fudge served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 11th district of Ohio before her current role as the 18th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under Joe Biden.

Her mother Marian L. Garth Saffold was a "labor organizer".

Background

Representative Fudge is past National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Professionally, she earned a Business Administration degree from Ohio State University and a law degree from Cleveland State University. She served as the chief administrator for her "beloved friend" and then Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Stephanie Tubbs Jones. When Tubbs Jones was elected to Congress, Representative Fudge became her first Chief of Staff.

Congress

Congresswoman Fudge is now serving in her third term. She was elected in a special election in November 2008, re-elected in the general election that was held that same month and again in 2010. She voted for President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a welcome “initial lifeline”. As a dedicated public servant, she begins each morning with a firm promise “to do the people’s work”. That simple philosophy defines this Congresswoman as a person of action who always keeps her word.

Support from Progressive Advocacy Groups

In January, 2021, numerous leftist organizations backed Marcia Fudge for Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a letter addressed to Joe Biden from "more than 50 progressive advocacy groups":,

The letter stated in part:

As the first Black woman to serve as Agriculture Secretary, Congresswoman Fudge would address the Department’s legacy of discrimination against Black and other historically-underserved farmers, and ensure these groups have full access to USDA programs and resources. Congresswoman Fudge has an unparalleled track record of protecting and strengthening nutrition programs. She was a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s work to strip Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, calling it a “war on people in need.” She continues this fight to increase SNAP and other crucial nutrition benefits during the pandemic."

• Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
• Animal Legal Defense Fund
• Animal Welfare Institute
• Brighter Green
• Center for Biological Diversity
• Center for Food Safety
• Climate Justice Alliance
• Encompass
• Family Farm Action
• Food & Water Action
• Humane Farming Association
• Humane Society Legislative Fund
• Mercy For Animals
• Oil Change U.S.
• Open Markets Institute
• People's Action
• Rapid Shift Network
• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
• The Humane League
• 198 methods
• 350.org
• Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie
• Alaska's Big Village Network
• Armonia
• Calhoun County Against CAFOs
• Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment
• Campaign for Renewable Energy
• Colorado Farm and Food Alliance
• Earth Action, Inc.
• Farmworker Association of Florida
• For West Virginia's Future
• Friends of Family Farmers
• Friends of the Earth
• Greater Highland Concerned Citizens
• Green State Solutions
• iEat Green
• Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
• Iowa Citizens for Responsible Agriculture - Worth
• Land Stewardship Project
• Lower East Side Ecology Center
• Maryland Pesticide Education Network
• Mobius
• New Roots, Inc.
• Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH)
• Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT)
• Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association
• Ohio Women’s Alliance
• OVEC-Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
• PA Stands Up
• Pittsburgh Food Policy Council
• Progressive Democrats of America
• Regeneration Massachusetts
• Slow Food North Shore
• The Greenbaum Foundation
• United Vision for Idaho & United Action for Idaho
• West Virginia Environmental Council
• WV Citizen Action
• 350Kishwaukee
• 350NH

Support for the Council on American Islamic Relations

Marcia Fudge wrote a letter of support to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on the occasion of their 24th anniversary in September 2018.

Praising CAIR

“Your work truly is essential in making democracy work for everyone in this country.”

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) (September 2014).

“CAIR has challenged Islamophobic rhetoric in the election, mobilized the Muslim community in voter registration and stood firm against the unprecedented spike in anti-Muslim hate incidents occurring nationwide”

-Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) (October 2017)

Jesse Jackson

In 1984 Marcia Fudge was an Ohio official of the Jesse Jackson for President campaign, delegate selection.

'Political Mentor' Arnold Pinkney

Upon his passing in 2014, Marcia Fudge claimed that Political Strategist Arnold Pinkney, Consultant to Jesse Jackson, was a "friend and an astute political mentor".

"The Cleveland community has lost a remarkable public servant who cared deeply about the future of our children and the well-being of all people," said U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Warrensville Heights and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. "Mr. Pinkney has been a friend and an astute political mentor to many, including me. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Betty, his daughter Traci and all other members of his family."

Rainbow PUSH Coalition

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition & Citizenship Education Fund held its 42nd Annual International Convention "A More Perfect Union: 150 Years Later Beyond Freedom – Reconstruction" July 6 - 10, 2013 Chicago Hilton & Towers. The Saturday morning Forum key issues we face today: access to health care, achieving high quality public education for all students, home and church foreclosures, urban violence, unemployment, economic recovery, and more, was moderated by Professor Charles Ogletree, Harvard University School of Law.

Panelists were: Rep. Marcia Fudge, Chair, Congressional Black Caucus, Michelle Alexander, Attorney and Author of “The New Jim Crow”, Barbara Arnwine, Attorney & Executive Director, Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, David Slane, Attorney, Robert Borosage, Founder & President, Campaign for America's Future, Cliff Kelly, Talk Show Host, WVON Radio, Chicago, Willie Gary, Attorney, Jonathan Jackson, Rainbow PUSH Coalition National Spokesman, Fred Gray, Civil Rights Attorney, Danny Davis, Congressman, Bobby Rush, Congressman.

Voting rights press conference

July 13, 2011 WASHINGTON, DC-- Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) made this statement today at the voting rights press conference:

"[In Ohio] We have one of the most draconian voter suppression bills in the United States. If we are going to have a society that involves all of its citizens, we cannot allow for these kinds of bills to be passed by legislature after legislature... Across this country, 11% of all people who are eligible to vote do not have a government issued ID. That's 21 million people. Every time we take one step forward, we take two steps back. And we're not going to allow it to happen. "

Members in attendance:

Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Corrine Brown, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Charles A. Gonzalez, Rep. Tim Ryan, Rep. Gwen Moore, Rep. Betty Sutton, Rep. Hank Johnson, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Donna Christensen, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Steve Cohen, Rep. Karen Bass.

Organizations and leaders in attendance:

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Tamika Mallory, National Action Network, Barbara Arnwine, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Laura Murphy, American Civil Liberties Union Hilary Shelton, NAACP, Rafael Collazo, National Council of La Raza/Democracia USA, Nichole Austin-Hillery, Brennan Center for Justice, Campus Progress, Center for American Progress, Diallo Brooks, People for the American Way.

PowerPAC+ 2014 convention

PowerPAC+ June 25, 2014;

With Steve Phillips, Aimee Allison, Representative Marcia Fudge, Julie Martinez Ortega and Congressman Mark Takano at National Press Club Building.

PowerPAC+ connection/diversity

June 2014, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, members of the Democracy Alliance major liberal donor club and a grand dame of Democratic operatives are among those pressuring the deepest pocketed organs of the party to send more work to political consulting firms owned by minorities.

“There is a racket. Everybody inside the Beltway is already connected, so it’s always been difficult to expand opportunities for women and minorities to have a seat at the table,” said the trailblazing Democratic strategist Donna Brazile.

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, in recent months has quietly urged Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel to contract with more minority owned consulting firms. But she hasn’t been pleased with the DCCC’s response, telling POLITICO, “we’ve met and repeatedly requested the DCCC’s diversity goals in writing and have yet to receive them. It is clear to me they have no desire to address this issue.”

Recently at a private meeting of the Democracy Alliance in Chicago, mega-donor Steve Phillips announced that he had launched an audit of top Democratic committees’ consulting contracts to minority firms.

He voiced frustration that a relatively small slice of the record-breaking sums spent in 2012 went to minority-owned firms, according to a source familiar with Phillips’ remarks.

“It’s not just about trying to steer dollars to the community,” said the source. “He’s trying to tap the expertise of minority-owned firms that may have better skills at reaching important minority voting demographics.”

Phillips , a San Francisco lawyer and activist, was traveling home from the conference and unavailable for comment, according to a representative. And press was barred from the panel where he made his announcement – which, according to a Democracy Alliance agenda, dealt with “how to engage and mobilize the Rising American Electorate (RAE) for victory in 2014 and organize a New Majority to advance our agenda in 2016 and beyond.” At least one other donor expressed support for Phillips’ initiative during the panel, said the source.

Currently, there are no hard data to back up the concerns raised by Phillips, Brazile and Fudge, and that is the point of the audit. It will be funded by Phillips and his wife Susan Sandler – who donated a combined $250,000 to liberal candidates and committees since 2011 (and likely much more to non-disclosing groups). And it will be carried out under the auspices of PowerPAC+, a PAC founded and chaired by Phillips , who quietly engineered an $11-million outside spending effort boosting then-Sen. Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

PowerPAC+ spent $220,000 last year boosting minority candidates including Cory Booker and bills itself as dedicated to building “the political power of America’s multiracial majority.”

The plan is for PowerPAC+ to do a similar audit every cycle to keep attention on the issue. The findings of the first audit, which will examine spending in the 2010 and 2012 cycles, will be presented at a Washington conference PowerPAC+ intends to host in June called “Race Will Win the Race,” Phillips said during the Democracy Alliance panel, according to the source.

It will examine the spending of the DNC, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (to which Phillips recently donated $30,000), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association and the super PACs Senate Majority PAC and House Majority PAC.

The Congressional Black Caucus has been working with the DNC for years on boosting minority contracting. Fudge praised the party committee’s efforts on the issue, explaining that “in 2012, the DNC exceeded diversity contracting goals as agreed upon by the CBC and the DNC. The current issue is the lack of diversity contracting by the DCCC.”

Race Will Win the Race conference

PowerPAC+ June 25, 2014;

Today's the day! #WINin2014 Race Will Win the Race conference is finally here. Check out what's to come and join us on Twitter @PowerPAC_Plus using #WINin2014. — with Stacey Abrams, Cory Booker, Trey Martinez Fischer, Representative Marcia Fudge and Mark Takano in Washington, District of Columbia.

Plus speakers Aimee Allison, Deepak Bhargava, Susan Sandler, Steve Phillips, Ingrid Nava, Andy Wong, Subodh Chandra, Linda Darling-Hammond, Alida Garcia, Julie Martinez Ortega.

"Closed door meetings"

Aimee Allison wrote February 6 2015.

This week, PowerPAC+ Chair Steve Phillips is in Washington D.C. working with the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Congressman Ben Ray Lujan and Congressman G.K. Butterfield, the new chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Together we are crafting some exciting plans to address party diversity issues in 2015. Our aim is a party that effectively engages communities of color and wins elections. No more losses like in 2014.

From Politico.

The party has broad room for growth. PowerPAC+, a Democratic group, released a report this year that found that less than 2 percent of the money the Democratic Party spent during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles went to firms owned by minorities — just $8.7 million of $514 million spent. The report examined expenditures from the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee...

Black lawmakers raised the issue of minority contractors with DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján on Wednesday during a closed-door meeting, and it is expected to be a topic during a Congressional Black Caucus members-only meeting Thursday with DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

More than a dozen lawmakers and political consultants interviewed said they’ve seen a noticeable difference at the DCCC since Luján was tapped to lead the House-focused campaign committee. The New Mexico Democrat railed against the lack of Latino consultants when he was in the rank and file.

The DCCC hasn’t yet inked new contracts with 2016 vendors, but Luján told lawmakers during a private meeting in Philadelphia last week that increasing the number of minority-owned firms with contracts at the committee would be a top priority ahead of the next election. There are plans to model a program off the DNC’s 2012 national political convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, which made minority contracting a high priority.

“Just beginning the second month of my first quarter here and I’m proud of the diverse staff we’re building this cycle,” Luján said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work with my Democratic colleagues and our allies to put the majority in play in 2016 and do it with a team that truly represents the electorate...”

The contracting issue has been a thorn between the campaign committees and minority lawmakers for decades. Last May, Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), then the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she had been urging the DCCC to improve its contracting numbers but met with resistance.

“We’ve met and repeatedly requested the DCCC’s diversity goals in writing and have yet to receive them. It is clear to me they have no desire to address this issue,” Fudge said at the time.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, the current chairman of the CBC, praised Luján’s “vision of having a diverse DCCC.” The North Carolina Democrat added that the DCCC will build a database of minority vendors using data that the party had used in Charlotte.

Tamir Rice petition

60,000-signature petition for County Prosecutor Tim McGinty for criminal charges and arrests warrants against Cleveland police that killed Tamir Rice to be delivered at 2 pm at Justice Center on July 23 2015 with 1 pm City Hall rally,

The groups called themselves the Tamir Rice Justice Committee and als also hold a 2 pm press conference on the steps of the Justice Center. Contacts were ontact Dick Peery, Rick Nagin and LaTonya Goldsby.

Dick Peery, a community activist, labor affiliate, and retired Cleveland Plain Dealer Newspaper reporter and former writer's guild union president said that Rick Nagin, a Cleveland west side community activist, would lead the rally, and so ould Rice's cousin, LaTonya Goldsby.

Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-11), a Warrensville Heights Democrat whose majority Black 11th congressional district includes the city of Cleveland, is the honorary chair of a Tamir Rice Justice Committee petition, a petition signed also by some Cleveland city council members, members of Cuyahoga County Council, state senators, other elected officials, residents, community activists, and members of the faith-based and labor communities of greater Cleveland.

Nick Martin, the executive director of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, was also among the notables supporting the initiative.

Members of the 17-member Cleveland City Council to sign the petition to date for McGinty to push for criminal charges against police relative to the killing of Rice include Jeff Johnson, Brian Cummins, and Kevin Conwell, vice chair of city council's safety committee.

Members of the 11- member Cuyahoga County Council that signed on include Anthony Hairston, Dale Miller, and Yvonne Conwell, Kevin Conwell's wife.

State Sen. Sandra Williams (D-21), a Cleveland Democrat, and state Sen. Michael Skindell (D-23), a Lakewood Democrat, also signed the petition, as did at least three suburban council persons, including those representing Woodmere, Fairvew Park and the city of Maple Heights.

Dozens of clergy of greater Cleveland have signed on, most of whom are Black, and include the Rev. Tony Minor, Rev. Lorenzo Norris, Rev. Sara Ross, Rev. Waltrina Middleton, and the Rev. Charles See, who leads Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries' Community Re-Entry Program for people returning from prison.

Labor leaders supporting the petition include Democratic operative Lane Dunbar, Workers United Local 178 President Wanda Navarro, Mark Davis, who is the Cleveland regional director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and David Sheagley, the legislative and political organizer for the American Federation of Government Employees, District 6.

Community activists supporting the endeavor include Dr. Stewart Robinson and Valerie Robinson of Stop Targeting Ohio's Poor, William Clarence Marshall of the Carl Stokes Brigade, Cleveland Renaissance Movement Leader Basheer Jones, Carol Steiner of Puncture the Silence, Bill Swain of Revolution Books, Don Bryant of the Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network, Al Porter of Black on Black Crime, Art McKoy of the Black Man's Army, and Julia Shearson, executive director of the Cleveland and northern Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR).

Among others that signed the petition are Cleveland NAACP Executive Board Member Meryl Tolbert Johnson, Lillian Sharpley and Karolyn Isnhart of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, and Rick Nagin and Janet Garcia, both of whom have made failed bids for a seat on Cleveland City Council.

Ohio Conference on Fair Trade commendation

On June 5, 2008, the Ohio Conference on Fair Trade, led by president Simone Morgen, of Columbus Jobs with Justice, and Democratic Socialists of Central Ohio, commended Sen. Sherrod Brown and five members of Ohio's congressional delegation for co-sponsoring the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act, introduced by Sen. Brown and Rep. Mike Michaud the day before in Washington D.C.

Representatives Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich, Tim Ryan, Betty Sutton and Charlie Wilson were among over fifty original House and Senate co-sponsors joining labor, environmental, family farm and faith groups in support of new consensus legislation which offers a positive vision for future U.S. trade policy.

Said OCFT President Simone Morgen.. "We have the opportunity for a new beginning that can spread the benefits of fair trade to the widest possible number of people. This is change we can really believe in!"

Congressional Progressive Caucus

As of February 20 2009 Marcia Fudge was listed as a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Congressional Black Caucus

Marcia Fudge is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 113th Congress:

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

In May 2013, Marcia Fudge was listed as an associate member the of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Voted against cutting funding for ACORN

In September 2009, following the lead of their Senate colleagues, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to cut off funds to ACORN. the vote was 345-75. All of the 75 were Democrats, and included Marcia Fudge.

CBTU connection

Robert Saffold, is the stepfather of U.S. Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH). He and his wife Marion Saffold are members of the Cleveland Chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.

CBTU 2009 conference

On May 23, 2009 Reps Hank Johnson, Marcia Fudge, and John Lewis addressed the opening session of the 38th Annual Convention of Coalition of Black Trade Unionists in Atlanta, GA.

Cuba trip

Laura Richardson, Emanuel Cleaver, Bobby Rush, Melvin L. Watt, Barbara Lee, Marcia Fudge in Havana

In early April 2009, Rep. Barbara Lee led a congressional delegation to Havana for a 4-1/2 hour meeting with Raul Castro, telling reporters, "All of us are convinced that President Castro would like normal relations and would see normalization, ending the embargo, as beneficial to both countries." Reuters reported that Lee's delegation "avoided specifics" with Castro "but were struck by his humor, impressed by his involvement in Third World causes and firm in their belief that he wants to end U.S.-Cuba enmity."

The meeting between Castro, Lee, and five other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, took place in secret without the customary presence of a US State Department official. No reporters attended, and according to the New York Times, Cuban television, which covered the visit, offered no details of what was said.

Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH), Laura Richardson (D-CA), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Melvin Luther Watt (D-CA), and Barbara Lee. "Also particpating were Patrice Willougby, executive assistant to the Congressional Black Caucus, and Eulada Watt, wife of Congressman Mel Watt,".

Bobby Rush said he found Raul Castro "to be just the opposite of how he's being portrayed in the media." AP quotes Rush as saying, "I think what really surprised me, but also endeared to him was his keen sense of humor, his sense of history and his basic human qualities." At times, Rush said, the lawmakers and Castro chatted "like old family members."

Lee says she wanted to influence President Barack Obama prior to the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Trinadad and Tobago.

Prior to the trip, Lee told her hometown Oakland Tribune newspaper that the US had to open up to Cuba, but did not demand that the Cuban government open up; she blasted US policy as "based on antiquated Cold War-era thinking." She could have used those words to describe her own views.

Fudge smoked cigars with Cuban President Raul Castro and met with a wide variety of Cuban government officials.

"He is really a very intelligent, a very engaging, entertaining guy, actually," Fudge said of the Cuban leader, who told childhood stories about his exploits with brother, Fidel, during a meeting that stretched into dinner.

EMILY's List

Fudge has been supported by EMILY's List during her campaigning.

OARA connection

Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans celebrates Social Security's 75th at a party in Cleveland with Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, August 10, 2010.

ARA PAF endorsement, 2014

The Alliance for Retired Americans Political Action Fund endorsed Marcia Fudge in 2014.

Black Caucus jobs campaign

In mid 2011, "demands to address the country's jobs crisis are accelerating with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) joining a growing number of groups calling for federal action". The CBC resolved to hosting a For the People Jobs Initiative in several urban areas stricken by high unemployment.

• Chicago, IL (first stop) – Congressman Danny K. Davis Host
• South Florida (Miami) – Congressman Frederica Wilson, Host
• Detroit, MI – Congressman John Conyers and Hansen Clarke, Host
• Cleveland, OH – Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, Host
• Los Angeles, CA – Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Host

Clevelanders to March & Rally for No Cuts

A broad coalition says national debt should be reduced through cuts to military spending, bank bailouts and corporate loopholes and end to Bush era tax cuts.

A Rally and March will take place on Saturday, December 10, 2011 in Downtown Cleveland calling for No Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The event coincides with International Human Rights Day. The rally will begin at Public Square in Cleveland at Noon. A march will follow to the Federal Building on E. 9th street.

The rally and march is sponsored by the December 10 Mobilizing Committee, a broad coalition of community, religious, labor and health care organizations.

Speakers at the rally will be US Representatives Dennis Kucinich, Marcia Fudge and Betty Sutton. Other speakers will include Harriet Applegate, North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor; Rev. Tony Minor, Metropolitan Lutheran Church; Becka Hawkins, Occupy Cleveland; Khalid Samad, Peace in the Hood; Wynne Antonio, Senior Voice Retiree Council; Nina McLellan, Peace Action; Amy Hanauer, Policy Matters; Debbie Kline, Jobs with Justice; April Stoltz, National Association of Letter Carriers (ret,); David Anthony, Akron Education Association; Rachel DeGolia, Universal Health Care Action Network; Greg Coleridge, Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee; and Jerry Gordon, Emergency Labor Network.

Poverty Tour 2.0

Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary, kick off "The Poverty Tour 2.0: A Call to Conscience" in Cleveland, OH.

The co-hosts of the nationally syndicated public radio program Smiley & West, from Public Radio International (PRI), hit the road September 12-15 2012 to host six town hall events that are FREE and open to the public.

"The Poverty Tour 2.0," sponsored in part by AARP Foundation and HuffPost Live, will visit the key battleground states of Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida. In addition, one town hall event will be held in the state of Delaware. Smiley and West intend to push the moderators of the upcoming presidential debates to ask the candidates about America's poverty problem, and to urge legislators to support public policy and implement programs that will alleviate poverty.

"These new Census numbers will underscore what we've been saying for a long time — poverty is the new American norm," said Smiley. "The time is now to force poverty on the agenda; our leaders can't simply continue to be quiet on this issue."

Confirmed guests include: Peter Edelman, former member of the Clinton administration and co-founder of the Children's Defense Fund; Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers; Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and former presidential candidate; Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH); Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-OH); Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA); Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH); and Jill Stein, Green Party USA candidate for president. All presidential and vice presidential candidates have been invited to participate.

"We're putting the spotlight on our precious fellow citizens who don't have access to a decent job, decent housing, and decent healthcare," said West. "We want to hear solutions that can be duplicated and adapted in communities across the country."

PDA contact

In 2013 Progressive Democrats of America assigned activists to deliver their material to almost every US Congressman and several Senators. Sue Vance, was assigned as contact for Rep. Fudge. In June it was Leo Martin.

Anniversary of King march

A march and rally marking the 50th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington on Capitol Hill, beginning a day of events recalling the historic 1963 civil-rights demonstration.

The march along a 1.6-mile route downtown will pass several buildings with significance for the civil-rights era, including the Justice Department, U.S. Courthouse, Department of Labor and Washington Monument. The procession, to be led by a restored 1960s-era bus like that used by civil-rights activists the Freedom Riders, is expected to draw upward of 100,000 participants. The original march, which demanded jobs and equal rights for blacks, drew about 250,000.

The route ends about midday at the Lincoln Memorial, where President Barack Obama will speak while standing in the same spot on the memorial steps where Rev. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, a stirring vision of equality, exactly five decades ago. Mr. Obama will cap two hours of official speeches between 1 and 3 p.m.

Wednesday's speakers include former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as civil-rights protest hero Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, the only surviving speaker from the original 1963 event. D.C.

Mayor Vincent Gray also will speak. Other congressional speakers include Reps. Joaquin Castro (D., Texas), Marcia Fudge (D., Ohio), Donna Edwards (D., Md.) and Angus King (I., Maine).

Nelson Mandela's Birthday

The South African Embassy, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and TransAfrica Forum — the Washington-based human rights organization that helped compel the U.S. government to act against apartheid in South Africa nearly 30 years ago – co-hosted a teleconference on Tuesday, July 16th, 2013 facilitated by Brand South Africa to outline the nationwide events to honor and celebrate “Mandela Day.”

Coordinated by the embassy, TransAfrica Forum and CBTU, events in Washington DC and 17 cities around the United States celebrated Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday on Thursday, July 18 with members of the original anti-apartheid and Free South Africa Movement, special guests and performances.

Teleconference to discuss “Mandela Day” events, with

• Ebrahim Rasool, South African Ambassador to the United States
• Nicole Lee, President of TransAfrica Forum
• Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Chair, Congressional Black Caucus
• Bill Lucy, President Emeritus of CBTU

Mandela's Funeral

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marcia Fudge and Members of the CBC joined an official Congressional Delegation to Johannesburg, South Africa to attend memorial services for former President Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, December 10, 2013.

SOAR rally

The White House Commission on Aging (WHCA) was set up, funded, under the ERISA Act in 1974, part of the Older Americans Act. It meets only once a decade in D.C. to set government policy on seniors/retirement security, and is supposed to be non-partisan in its approach. For 40 years, the WHCA did just that, with both main national political parties generally cooperating in this task. All that has now ended!

The Republican Party has openly declared war on retirees. As soon as they achieved a majority in congress they defunded the WHCA, refused to continue to support the Older Americans Act and every GOP candidate running for top office has announced that they'll support cuts in Social Security. Legislation attacking Social Security and pensions was the first thing passed by that majority. Many Democrats haven't been much better, looking for some type of 'grand bargain' to cut retiree security.

In this difficult situation, the Obama administration held hearings of the WHCA at various locations across the nation in 2015. While receiving little media coverage, regional hearings were held in Tampa, Phoenix, Seattle, Cleveland (Apr. 27) & Boston.

For a wide coalition of retirees, unions and supporters of retiree security, this was just not acceptable and it was felt that there needed to be a public event, alongside the WHCA Cleveland hearing, to assure that those impacted by government/corporate policies are actually held. The United Steelworkers, their retiree organization, SOAR (Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees), the Ohio AFL-CIO, Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA), the Cleveland Union Retiree Council & Senior Voice, a retiree based coalition in Cleveland), and others came together and have called a rally for 1:00 on 4/27 at the Old Stone Church in that city, on Public Square, just a block from where the WHCA hearings are being held.

"We need to make sure that we are seen, and heard," stated Cleveland SOAR President Jim Reed. "We earned our pensions, they aren't anyone's 'entitlements.' Those pensions, and Social Security, support our families and the communities we live in. They are our lifeline and we intend to stand up and defend them."

Sen. Sherrod Brown, congress reps Marcy Kaptur & Marcia Fudge are scheduled to speak at the rally. The main speaker is to be Fred Redmond, USW Vice President. Todd Smith, local union musician, is providing entertainment and the coalition is videoing stories from retirees and others. Senior Voice is providing speakers on how policies have affect people in that community.

"Ohio ARA has to be part of this coalition, so that we can help raise, to the public's attention, how congress has helped corporations destroy retiree security for people in Ohio and elsewhere. Pensions, Social Security, are the only way retirees can life, pay medical bills, provide for their families and this idea of some that stealing from widows and retirees to enrich the wealthiest in our nation is just plain wrong! We need real retiree security again for all, not tax cuts and bailouts for billionaires!"

According to Bruce Bostick, the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans organized the rally.

Ferguson

After an emotional meeting between a dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus and activists in Ferguson, Mo., the CBC pledges action to keep the movement going.

After a dinner meeting with 10 young activists in Ferguson, Mo., members of the Congressional Black Caucus are looking for ways to empower the Ferguson activist community. Eleven members of the caucus met with the activists Jan. 17, 2015 including leaders from the Organization for Black Struggle and activists Deray McKesson and Johnetta Elzie.

“That dinner meeting was powerful. They [the members] heard it. They got an earful from those young people about how bad it is. They spoke on how they felt that the civil rights movement had failed them and talked on the abuse they are still taking from the criminal-justice system,” Rep. William Lacy Clay, Jr. (D-Mo.) told The Root days after the CBC visit to his district.

“The next step is for the Congressional Black Caucus Institute to get behind a massive effort to educate the voters of Ferguson. It’s a community of 21,000 people, 67 percent African American; we have the numbers, and the map works for them having a voice in local government,” Clay added.

Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), who attended the Ferguson dinner, stressed during an interview with The Root, “We can’t tell them what to do” but “we can help them with what they want to do.”

Members of the CBC pledged to sponsor several young activists from Ferguson for the next CBC Political and Education Leadership Institute Boot Camp. The CBC Institute, started in 2002, has an annual political-leadership boot camp that focuses on leadership development, political campaigns and issue advocacy. In July, 55 young people graduated from the boot camp. Members can sponsor boot camp students with their campaign funds.

“Rep. Joyce Beatty [D-Ohio] agreed to sponsor one of the activists who attended the dinner at the CBC Institute boot camp. We’re gonna have about 15 of these young people in our boot camp from Ferguson,” Clay said.

Clay said the dinner meeting “was very positive, and it wasn’t really slamming the police, but it’s letting them know: OK, we’re watching you. We’re gonna take direct action legislatively to correct some of these gross inequities in the administration of justice.”

CBC member Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), currently the top fundraiser of the 46-member caucus, brought a check to the dinner meeting for each City Council candidate at the gathering. A more detailed fundraising plan is being thought out.

“We have filled the candidates in those seats, and we will be going out in each of the three wards in Ferguson, educating the voters on the importance of them having a voice in their local government,” said Clay.

CBC Chairman G.K. Butterfield told The Root on the night of the State of the Union that the caucus will soon unveil a detailed criminal-justice legislative plan.

The delegation also included reps Karen Bass, D-Calif.; Andre Carson, D-Ind.; Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City; Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio; Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas; Donald Payne, Jr., D-N.J.

Unity Reform Commission

In 2017 the Democratic National Committee's 21-member Unity Reform Commission included nine members selected by Hillary Clinton, seven members picked by Bernie Sanders, three picked by Thomas Perez, and the chair and vice chair ― selected by Clinton and Sanders, respectively.

Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Clinton supporter was a member.

Impeaching Trump

A group of six Democratic House members introduced articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump Wednesday November 15, 2017, claiming the president has violated federal law, the public trust and should be charged with high crimes and misdemeanors.

Democratic Reps. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, Al Green of Texas and Adriano Espaillat of New York introduced five articles of impeachment at a press conference at the Capitol Wednesday. The articles have two more co-sponsors: Reps. Marcia Fudge of Ohio and John Yarmuth of Kentucky.

The congressmen list a number of charges against the president, including: obstruction of justice, a violation of the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, a violation of the Constitution’s domestic emoluments clause, undermining the federal judiciary process and undermining the press.

The articles focus primarily on Trump’s handing of the termination of former FBI Director James Comey, and potential conflicts of interest with Trump’s businesses and properties while he’s served as president.

Medicare For All Congressional Caucus founders

In August 2018 Medicare For All Congressional Caucus founding members included Representative Marcia Fudge.

Medicare for All Act

In February 2019 Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced H.R.1384 - Medicare for All Act of 2019. By May 29 she had 110 co-sponsors including Rep. Marcia Fudge.

Staff

The following are past and present staff:

• Laura Allen
• Amber Cheree Allen
• Imran Awan
• Janice Bilchik
• Lloyd Brown, Jr. (Skip)
• Ariella Brown
• Dedan Kimathi Bruner
• Stephen Caviness
• Beverly Charles
• Sharon Cole
• Mary Cronin
• Bernadette Daniels (Jerica)
• Daniel Fellenbaum
• Erin Finley
• Eulice Brandon Garrett (Brandon)
• Anita Gray
• John Hairston, Jr.
• Eric Hammond
• LaDavia Hatcher-Drane
• Ticora Jones
• Lalla King Green
• Christine Kontra
• Andrea Martin
• Linda Matthews
• Casey Miller
• Dawn Kelly Mobley
• Thione Niang
• Kate Ostrander
• Latrice Powell
• Belinda Prinz
• Saulette Reed
• Angela Teresa Rye
• Irene Schwoeffermann
• Uzma Maheen Siddiqui(Maheen)
• Aketa Marie Simmons
• Scott Simpson
• Fiol Velez-Romero
• Aaron Sidney Wasserman
• Kyle Williams
• Clifton Ronald St. Clair Williams III
• Jessica Williams Norton
• Jeanne Patrice Willoughby (Patrice)
• Stephanie Young

External links

• Fudge's website with the House of Representatives

References

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