Nearly 60 House members and a handful senators will go beyond Capitol Hill this week and take policy discussions and programming throughout the District for the 55th Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) Annual Legislative Conference (ALC), a gathering that many young adult leaders say comes at a crucial time for the nation.
“This year’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation ALC week may be the most important yet,” said Rep. Oye Owolewa, District shadow representative and the Democratic candidate for an at-large position on the D.C. Council. “With so much at stake, from record disinvestment in [diversity, equity and inclusion] (DEI) to national attacks on Black people’s voting rights, we must collectively organize and galvanize.”
From Sept. 16-20, thousands will gather at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest, D.C. to explore programming, sessions, activations and the massive exhibit hall featuring Black businesses and authors, while also taking time to check out panels and a variety of purpose-driven parties happening throughout the DMV.
As the CBCF marks 50 years with the 55th conference, the 2026 convening is not only to recognize the work over the past five decades, but to gear up for what’s ahead and prepare the next generation of leaders to do so.
“This year’s theme of Rooted, Ready and Rising is appropriate because we have to use our past lessons to guide our future,” Owolewa, 36, told The Informer.
Excited by this year’s planned programming, the millennial politician is not the only person hoping to get guidance for moving forward in the President Donald Trump era and beyond. For many young people, future possibilities is exactly what the CBCF Annual Legislative Conference is all about.
Hannah Paige Jackson, a senior political science major and economics minor at Howard University, said last year’s ALC became a defining moment for her collegiate career and beyond. Taking a break from the conference hustle, Jackson sat down to eat, and before taking a bite, she said a little prayer that went a long way.
“I looked up, my now boss asked me what church I go to, and we just started conversing. And from there, I introduced myself and told him about my love of politics and marketing,” Paige Jackson told The Informer. “He happened to be the CEO of a senior group brand named The PR Firm that I currently intern in and will become a full-time employee at the end of my Howard tenure.”
In addition to that important chance meeting, the Howard senior, originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, also appreciated the ability to engage with members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) during last year’s conference.
“Of course, [there were] amazing speakers,” she continued, “[and] just the opportunity to be able to sit and have a first-hand look and ask questions, like asking Senator Alsobrooks about her GENIUS bill when it was first happening, because AI is such a big thing.”
After also attending the 54th ALC, Tim Little, a junior mechanical engineering major at Howard, said he “can’t wait for this conference,” not only because of the programming but the participants.
“It’s the experience and the people — the senators, the government officials, and the everyday Black entrepreneurs and business people that you can meet,” he told The Informer. “It’s just a general showcase of Black excellence that everyone needs to see. No matter age, race, or group.”
Rooted: ‘You Wouldn’t Be Here Without Someone Else’s Legacy of Leadership‘
While at the 2025 ALC, Little realized he was surrounded by the nation’s top Black leaders, artists and changemakers, and was humbled to be in their presence while also hoping to follow in their footsteps.
After attending last year’s conference, Little learned an important lesson in leadership.
“It’s really understanding your own history and it makes you want to take control of its own narrative,” said Little, who started his high school’s debate team in his hometown of Detroit and has been instrumental in starting other clubs at Howard. “It’s up to us to make our own narratives. And that’s what makes me want to continue to be a leader. It makes me be the leader that I am.”
With hopes to interact with some of the 62 members of the Congressional Black Caucus (58 congressmen and four senators) during the conference, Little is eager to continue gaining inspiration to further his justice-driven leadership goals. Joining justice fights runs in Little’s blood.
“My granddad, my family… they’ve seen it all, from the 1960s — being from the 60s Detroit — seeing the riots,” Little, 20, told The Informer. “Even my own grandma was a part of SNCC [the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] back in Oakland, Tennessee. And so people like them — especially my elders — they inspired me to continue to lead, to make a better life for my kids, my nephews. … I only want better for generations to come.”
Paige Jackson’s family has also been a driving force in her work today and goals for the future.
“I for sure think that I’m part of the next generation of leaders, but it’s not because of anything that I have done. I think it’s because of how I’m being poured into and the ways in which I am informed about the legacy that I come from,” she told The Informer. “My grandmother marched in the Civil Rights Movement. She was an educator for 50-plus years with Baron Baptist Head Start.”
The Tuscaloosa native said her grandmother is just one example of the “amazing people” she comes from, who have pushed her to be conscientious of her “social and political standing in this world.”
“I think that it’s almost inherent to seek leadership when you understand that you wouldn’t be here without someone else’s legacy of leadership,” she continued. “It’s a responsibility.”
As she considered the 55th ALC theme “Rooted, Ready and Rising,” Paige Jackson, who serves as the Education Committee Chair for Howard University’s NAACP Chapter, not only discussed her own roots, but the foundation of her activism and hopes for the future.
“When I go about my advocacy, when I go about my leadership, when I go about my education, I think, how can I spread love? How can I make it easier for people to accept love? How can I make this world a better place for love to lead first?” she told The Informer. “That means taking care of our fellow brethren, making sure that everybody’s needs are met, making sure that there’s space for voices to be heard, for communities to be uplifted. Where there are gaps, you fill the gaps. That’s love. And that’s what I’m rooted in.”
Heading into this year’s conference, Kelsye Adams, co-founder of Free DC, is hoping leaders can see the value of reaching out into the community to effect change.
For me, ‘Rooted, Ready, and Rising’ means knowing where you come from, understanding what generations before you fought for, and then being prepared to take that fight further,” she told The Informer. “At FREE DC, we are rooted in joy and bringing D.C. communities together, but being rooted doesn’t mean staying in one place. We organize in our neighborhoods, and then we take those voices directly to Capitol Hill. We’ve partnered with Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, Long Live GoGo and other organizations because movements are strongest when we’re building together instead of operating in silos.”
Ready: ‘Inspiration Without Infrastructure Doesn’t Build a Movement‘
This year’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation ALC comes ahead of November’s midterm elections and at a time when federal leaders have: eradicated DEI; pushed back against teaching Black history; sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across American towns and cities; and deployed the National Guard to D.C., where Trump said they will be patrol streets until the end of his term in January 2029.
“D.C. is hosting this CBC under the dark cloud of federal oppression,” Owolewa said. “We’ve seen ICE rip our communities apart, the National Guard weaponized and our voices continuously undermined. This week comes at an inflection point in D.C. history.”
With all this at play, Paige Jackson said this year’s ALC should focus on more than just discussions and celebrations.
“It’s about taking action, especially when you see the other side of the aisle and the ways in which they are going through their playbook. It’s less thinking and it’s more doing. And I think that’s what we need to be doing,” she told The Informer. “Of course, we need to be smart, make calculated decisions about how we want to defend American democracy and especially defend American democratic rights and freedoms for Black and brown communities.”
As Black congressional members meet for policy discussions, panels and events like the annual CBCF Town Hall on Thursday, Sept. 17 and Day of Healing on Saturday, Sept. 19, Paige Jackson hopes to see the politicians and thought leaders work to tackle some of the major challenges facing people of color across the country.
“What I want to see addressed is the influx of lynchings that we’ve seen in the Black and brown community,” Paige Jackson, 21, told The Informer.
Further, there are two incidents that are particularly vexing for Paige Jackson: the death of Nolan Wells and next steps in the case of Karmelo Anthony.
“I think that we need way more call to action and we need to be way more fervent in seeking justice— being more visibly… impactful about the Nolan Wells case and everything going on with the young man Anthony.”
Wells, 18, went missing after going on a boat trip and attending a Fourth of July gathering on Mississippi’s Horn Island, and was found dead two days later.
In June, 19-year-old Anthony was found guilty and sentenced to serve 35 years in prison in the April 2025 murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, Texas. Anthony, a Black teen who was then 17, said he was defending himself against Metcalf, whose character dossier later revealed, had received 12 months of juvenile probation for spray-painting racial slurs.
With the Wells and Anthony cases happening in the South, the Alabama native said these young men’s stories hit home. As she approaches this year’s ALC, the Howard University senior is also offering a call to action.
“We need to be keeping each other safe,” she told The Informer. “And the only way that we can really keep each other safe, is if we keep each other fully informed and take full accountability for the missteps that allow these really serious, serious instances of violence on the world stage to not be a catalyst for institutional change.”
As the country and nation’s capital navigate challenging times, Adams, who also serves as executive director of Long Live GoGo, said it’s crucial that conference participants know the ALC is a stepping stone in the path toward progress.
“A great conference can inspire you, but inspiration without infrastructure doesn’t build a movement. Who did you meet? Who are you going to organize with? What are you going to do when you get home? What organization are you joining? Who are you bringing with you next time?” she told the Informer. “I want people to leave understanding that advocacy isn’t something reserved for professional organizers or people who work on Capitol Hill. You can organize from wherever you are.”
She encouraged attendees of all ages to use the conference as a guide toward furthering their overall goals.
“Take what you learned, build relationships with people doing work in your community, bring
somebody younger than you into the process, and then connect your local fight to the people
who have the power to change policy,” she told The Informer. “And don’t just bring information home — bring opportunity home. That’s how we grow movements. Organizing can be unorthodox and still organized, and really gets the people going.”
Rising: ‘We Have to Intentionally Bring the Next Generation With Us‘
For Adams, 35, change and progress are only possible by embracing an intergenerational approach.
“The strongest movements don’t pit generations against each other,” she said. “We combine institutional knowledge with new energy and new tactics.”
The Free DC co-founder said there’s great value in generations being able to learn from and build with one another.
“Young organizers can learn that movements take time. Previous generations can teach us about discipline, coalition building, organizing through setbacks, and staying committed even when you don’t immediately see the victory,” Adams continued. “But older generations also have to understand that young people organize differently. They’re creative, they’re fast, they understand culture and digital communication, and they aren’t always interested in doing something simply because ‘that’s how we’ve always done it.’”
Adams said the final portion of the ALC’s 2026 theme– rising— is especially important because “we have to intentionally bring the next generation with us.”
“This summer, we brought young Black students to Capitol Hill so they could see advocacy firsthand — not just read about Congress in a textbook, but walk those halls, understand who makes decisions about their lives, speak directly to staff and know they have every right to demand something from those decision-makers,” Adams said about one of Free DC’s many efforts.
While the youth who participated in Free DC’s programming got to witness policy and advocacy work up close, Little and Paige Jackson, who both attend historically Black universities, noted that such opportunities are not commonplace for many students and young adults. That’s why the students contend gatherings like the ALC are incredibly valuable.
Little said he’d like to see even more young people get involved in the annual conference, to witness the “Black excellence” he was so impressed by when attending for the first time last year.
“I would love it if there [are] main discussions of how we can have Black youth understand the value of life and not to be withheld to the violence within the system that is wanted for them. And to be able to aspire to much more than what they see just generally around them in their many different cities,” he said. “[I want them] to be able to see more, to see the politics side, to see what they can actually change about the world and not be stuck in it.
As the CBCF celebrates 50 years at its 55th ALC, Paige Jackson is not only excited to mark the milestone during this week’s workshops, panels and parties, but is hopeful for generations even beyond Gen-Z to experience the annual gathering.
“I really appreciate the annual legislative conference and being from Alabama, we don’t really have many opportunities to engage in such drastic ways with these kinds of organizations,” she told The Informer. “I just hope that it continues to last. I hope to have my kids go to the 200th annual legislative conference.”
