The Delta Grassroots Caucus (DGC) is a broad coalition of grassroots leaders in the eight-state Delta region. DGC is also a founding partner of the Economic Equality Caucus,
which advocates for economic equality across the USA.

20th Anniversary of White House Conference on the Delta Set for May 28-29, 2020 in Little Rock

Posted on December 09, 2019 at 01:03 PM

We are holding a very special if not unique event in the history of the Delta Grassroots Caucus on May 28-29, 2020: the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the “Delta Vision, Delta Voices” White House Conference on the Delta in Washington, DC, during May of 2000.

It will be in Little Rock with the opening session currently set for the Arkansas Capitol Rotunda on May 28 and the main session at the Clinton Library on May 29. This is bipartisan.

We will have a series of funded announcements from foundations, corporations and nonprofits regarding community and economic development in the 8-state Greater Delta Region from southern Illinois and Missouri to New Orleans and eastward to the Alabama Black Belt. This will emphasize that along with our region’s ongoing economic challenges that we all know about it and work to change every day, there are also many constructive activities building toward a brighter future in the Delta.

We will re-dedicate ourselves to strong advocacy for the Greater Delta Region in 2020 and on into the future. The point of this conference is to generate action for the region’s economy by federal, state and local powers that be, and not just to have discussions and reminisce.

The opening session will be May 28 in the early evening from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Arkansas State Capitol Rotunda, followed by a socializing, informal dinner at the group hotel shortly afterward.

Then the main session will be at the Clinton Presidential Library Great Hall on from 8:15 p.m. to 2 p.m.

We will invite President Bill Clinton, Clinton administration officials who were involved in the Delta Regional Initiative, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the Arkansas Congressional delegation, state legislators, mayors, nonprofits, business leaders, universities and colleges, and grassroots leaders from the 8-state region.

This is a very special event and space is limited. As Gene Sperling, one of President Clinton’s economic development advisers said recently at a recent great event at the Clinton Library on the 20th anniversary of Community Development Financial Institutions and other economic policies for lower income groups, when you are commemorating an initiative that has lasted 20 years it’s an indication of its merit that it was founded so long ago and is still going strong today.

KEY THEMES

The key themes will be women’s issues and economic opportunity in the Greater Delta Region. We believe that the Delta would benefit tremendously if we could unleash the economic potential by providing equal pay for equal work by women, greater opportunities for women in business and entrepreneurialism, nonprofits, the top executive positions in the academic world, elected office, and end gender discrimination in all its forms.

We will also devote substantial attention to economic initiatives for lower income and middle income working people, Community Development Financial Institutions, the Earned Income Tax Credit, programs similar to rural Empowerment Zones, job creation especially through small business and entrepreneurialism, health care, nutrition, and transportation, flood control, housing and infrastructure.

Greater participation by women will be helpful in all these categories. Of course all of the conference will not exclusively focus on women’s issues. In many cases the speakers on the economic opportunity issues will be women leaders.

We are delighted to have as Conference Co-Chair (along with Delta Caucus Director Lee Powell) the CEO, Rupa Dash, of the World Woman Federation, which recently held a great two-day conference at the Clinton Library with women leaders from across the USA and the world.

Rupa Dash has been a speaker previously to the Delta Caucus at the Clinton Library, and she has a strong interest in the Greater Delta Region. She has had a fascinating career and grew up in a region in India that was rural, impoverished, had major agricultural production, and was in a river delta region–it is very similar to the Mississippi Delta and she has a great affinity for our region.

Rupa Dash was very successful in the film industry in Los Angeles and is giving back through her great nonprofit work with the World Woman Federation and we are honored to have Ms. Dash and her organization partnering with us for this event.

REGISTRATION

This event will be on a large-scale and space is limited. If spaces become scarce we will have to do this on a first-come, first-first serve basis.

We will have a deadline by which the registration fees must be paid in order to gain admission. The deadline is May 18, 2020.

We will be full by that time. Registrations will not be accepted at the front desk at the time of the conference.

You register by paying the registration fees, which are $125.

For those who have paid their annual membership dues for the calendar year 2020 (we are beginning to accept annual membership dues for 2020 now), they will get reductions to $100 for the May event, the fall conference of the Delta Caucus, and other activities and communications by the Delta Caucus in 2020.

The fastest and easiest way to pay is to go on the website at mdgc.us and go to the PayPal link at the top of the site that says “Donate.” This automatically creates a written record of the transaction and it accepts all major debit and credit cards.

If you prefer to pay by check, please make out the check to “Delta Caucus” and mail to:

Delta Caucus

5030 Purslane Place

Waldorf, Maryland 20601

We are working on finalizing an agreement with the group hotel and will send along that information soon.

Thanks very much. Lee Powell, Executive Director, Delta Grassroots Caucus (202) 360-6347