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DNC African American Leadership Summit A Success

October 3, 2006

This past weekend the DNC's Black Caucus hosted a successful African American Leadership Summit in Detroit, Michigan. The summit had over 400 participants from all over the country who attended the conference which focused on issues important to the African American community. "Our Voices, Our Values, Our Votes" was the theme of this year's summit, which brought together Democratic activists, state Party staffers, elected officials, candidates for office and DNC members.

On Friday the summit kicked off with in-depth presentations and panels outlining the Democratic agenda and the DNC's 50 state partnership program which is rebuilding the party from the ground up in all 50 states and territories and in every community. Participants heard from DNC Chairman Howard Dean and others about the Democratic message and how leaders could take this back to their communities.

On Saturday a town hall meeting addressed important issues such as voting rights, and mobilizing the Democratic base. Later that day in intensive training workshops, DNC staff covered critical topics including voting rights, faith outreach, surrogate training, Election Day operations and voter file management.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

"The African American Leadership Summit was a successful event which reached out and demonstrated our ongoing commitment to the African American community. I was excited by the enthusiasm of all attendees to get involved in the party not just through GOTV, but by running for office and actively delivering the Democratic message. Historically the African American community has been at the forefront of electing Democratic candidates because we represent the interests of all Americans, but we will not take their votes for granted. Democrats will continue to build on the success of this summit by working with all communities in order to create a new direction for America."

Democratic National Committee Black Caucus Chairwoman Virgie Rollins issued the following statement:

"This year's African American Leadership Summit was a stellar event, from the participants to the speakers. One of the most productive aspects of the summit was the interactive dialogue in which participants were able to ask questions and have their voices heard by key leaders within the Party. This successful summit is just the first of many to come which will continue to engage the African American community on the vital role it plays within the Democratic Party. I am confident that participants left the summit with a renewed sense of urgency and actions items to take back to their local communities."

The pictures included below are available for download in high and low resolution, and may be reproduced: