Black Women’s Roundtable Unites a Diverse Group of Women Leaders and Organizations in Support of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice
Washington, DC – A diverse group of women leaders and organizations have joined forces with the Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR) to launch a campaign to express their unequivocal support of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice and to encourage senate and congressional leaders to treat the esteemed public servant with respect. In addition to signing on to an open letter to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, nearly 100 women from across the country are promoting an online petition in support of Ambassador Rice via personal and organizational networks as well as online social media.
Women signing on to the letter include: 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, Susan Scanlan, Chair, National Council of Women’s Organizations & President, Women’s Research & Education Institute; Vivica A. Fox, President, Foxy Brown Productions; and Dr. Natalia A. Francisco, Founder/Executive Director, Women of Worth & Worship, LLC.
The letter sent to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and committee ranking member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said, “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 letter continues, “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.”
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.
The BWR open letter to the Senate, a link to the petition, and a widget to post the petition to websites and social media are located at www.ncbcp.org, and Petition2Congress.com (http://tinyurl.com/c3oazfb). The twitter hashtag is #SUPPORTAMBASSADORRICE.
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NOTE TO MEDIA: Several of the signers are available for interview email edmedia@dogonvillage.com. Signers:
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
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
Executive 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
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.
Sharon Hanshaw
Executive Director
Coastal Women for Change
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
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
Economist, Scholar & Author
President & CEO
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 of Public Liaison
Karen Mulhauser
President
Mulhauser and Associates
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, MSCBP
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
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 Samuels
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
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
Sharon Zimmerman
Interim Executive Director
Women’s Action for New Directions
[UPDATED SIGN ON as of 11.28.12]
**organization referenced for identification purposes only.
