The 7th Biennial “On the Hill” Legislative Summit was held in Washington, DC, September 25-29, 2019. Members and teens from 247 chapters representing 33 U.S. states conducted 252 congressional meetings during Jack and Jill of America, Inc.’s (JJOA). JJOA kicked-off the conference with a Legislative Advocacy Day at the U.S. Capitol with 1000 of its teen delegates holding 66 meetings with the U.S. Senate and 186 with the U.S. House of Representatives. On Sept. 26, JJOA teens met with 147 Democrats and 103 Republicans to say “The Time is Now” to act on key legislative issues: Voter Registration; Equity in Education; and Gun Violence Prevention and Safety.
During the “On the Hill” Legislative Summit, JJOA and its philanthropic arm, Jack and Jill Foundation, also launched a scholarship endowment, with a goal to raise $2M collectively. The HBCU “Close the GAP” Scholarship Fund, has a purpose of providing students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with an unmet financial need and are unable to graduate – an emergency gift.
With the goal of increasing the number of students graduating from HBCUs, students in good standing who are close to finishing their degrees will qualify to have their remaining tuition bill paid in full courtesy of the Jack and Jill Foundation’s HBCU GAP Scholarship. The $2 million endowment will begin with a collaboration with the Foundation over a 10-year period – $100,000 annually – into a scholarship endowed fund for students attending an HBCU.
Jack and Jill of America joined the national voices of those advocating for policies and practices that would better protect communities of color with its first-ever “The Time is Now: Gun Violence Prevention and Safety Rally.” More than 1000 teens and parents donned in orange – the color for National Gun Violence Awareness – spread the conversation about gun violence prevention and safety through a live stream of the rally and social media conversation using the hash tag: #jjgoesorange.
Legislative and community advocates from civil rights attorneys, journalists, media commentators, authors, political strategists to activists – all staunch champions of the organization’s mission to nurture future African American leaders – supported JJOA’s “On The Hill” Legislative Summit throughout the week by participating in townhalls, workshops, keynote addresses, online engagement and more. Representatives of Black Excellence who participated in the 2019 OTH consisted of:
- Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA),
- Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA),
- Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC),
- Valerie Jarrett, Author & Advisor to Pres. Obama
- Dr. Anthony K. Wutoh,Provost, Howard University
- Dr. Gregg Carr, Professor of Africana Studies, Howard University
- Allison Seymour, Anchor, FOX 5 News
- Stacey Samuel, Supervising Editor, NPR
- Sophia Dennis, Founder, Essence Girls United
- Jeffrey Johnson, Author & Former BET Show Host
- Nupol Kiazolu, Activist, Black Lives Matter
- Benjamin Crump, Esq., Civil Rights Attorney
- James Clark, VP of Community Outreach, Better Family Life Gun Violence Prevention
- Kemba Smith, Author/Activist/Speaker
- Bakari Sellers, Esq., Political Analyst, CNN
- Shermichael Singleton,
- Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry and Minyon Moore – “The Colored Girls”
Check out Jack and Jill of America’s photo slideshow , link to all of the phenomenal presentations/discussions, and social media highlights from the 7th Biennial “On the Hill” Summit.
