Panel To Examine Black Vote In Midterms

WASHINGTON – The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies will release a comprehensive analysis of African American voting patterns in the 2010 midterm elections on Tuesday during a forum where experts will take a hard look at the election results and consider political and policy options for communities of color.

The forum, “The 2010 Midterm Elections: Implications for African Americans and Other Communities of Color,” is sponsored by Joint Center in partnership with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the Institute for Policy Studies. It will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Wellstone Conference Room at EPI, 1333 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005-4707.

David A. Bositis, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate at the Joint Center and a nationally-recognized authority on the black electorate will present the post-election analysis. The event comes two weeks after midterm election results that will shift the balance of power in the 112th Congress, with Republicans taking control in the U.S. House of Representatives and Democrats maintaining a slender majority in the U.S. Senate. The forum will examine the political ramifications of the elections and the impact on redistricting and political participation. Panelists also will consider what kind of policy changes could emerge with regard to jobs and the economy, education, energy and climate change, health and health care reform, immigration, access to broadband technology and judicial appointments.

Experts and scholars who will share their insights are:
Ralph B. Everett, Esq., President and CEO, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Lawrence Mishel, Ph.D., President, Economic Policy Institute
Gina E. Wood, Director of Policy and Planning, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
David A. Bositis, Ph.D., Senior Political Analyst, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Michelle Bernard, President and CEO, Independent Women’s Forum and MSNBC Political Analyst
Christian Dorsey, Director of External Affairs and Government Affairs, Economic Policy Institute
Dedrick Muhammad, Senior Organizer and Research Associate, Institute for Policy Studies and moderator of the panel
Algernon Austin, Ph.D., Director, Program of the Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy, Economic Policy Institute
Nicol Turner-Lee, Ph.D., Vice President and Director, Media and Technology Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Eric Rodriguez, Vice President, Office of Research, Advocacy and Legislation, National Council of La Raza
Heather C. McGhee, Esq., Director of the Washington Office, Demos
Steve Savner, Esq., Director of Public Policy, Center for Community Change
Brian Smedley, Ph.D., Vice President and Director, Health Policy Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is one of the nation’s leading research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses primarily on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color. The Joint Center is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. To learn more, please visit www.jointcenter.org.