The Montgomery County Minority Legislative Breakfast Committee (MLB) returned to in-person advocacy and highlighted its Joint Legislative Agenda for 2024 at its 23rd official breakfast on Dec. 11.
Held at the renovated Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, more than 300 participants filled the dining area, and heard legislative perspectives from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Reps. David Trone (D-Md.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and a number of other federal, state and local officials.
The Breakfast Committee is a collaboration started when the African American Business Council — now known as the African American Chamber of Commerce (AACC) — the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (HCC), joined to sponsor the initial Minority Legislative Breakfast on Dec. 13, 2001. It was the first time in a public forum, elected leaders and local officials were called together by such a coalition to address minority concerns and share specific proposals to help minorities in the county. Each year, hosting responsibilities rotate amongst the groups, with the AAPA serving as official host for the 2023 breakfast.
Kenneth White, president and CEO of the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce (MBCC), an event sponsor, emphasized that the breakfast serves an increasingly important role today.
“It is an opportunity to meet and hear from our elected officials. Sometimes you only see people on the news. [Here], I get to go up and shake their hand and say ‘I’d like to have a meeting with you.’ In my opinion, a lot of minorities don’t have opportunities like that…to get out and meet, and shake hands and hear [directly] from elected officials,” said White. “We had some younger folks at our table, and they came away saying [if not for] being involved in the Maryland Black Chamber, I probably wouldn’t have had an opportunity to meet with any of these people in this kind of [setting].”
Attorney Randall Nixon, who serves on the MBCC advisory board said that his years as a government lawyer taught him that politicians pay close attention to the “collective voices of people of color,” when speaking about the “world of commerce.”
“When we say that we have an interest in legislation that pertains to jobs, economic development and broader issues, they pay attention. It’s actually somewhat intimidating,” Nixon said. “Delegates, members of Congress say, ‘I didn’t know that your organization was so large, so prominent.’ And we’ve been growing for the last seven, eight years. So, this helps facilitate Black businesses in Montgomery, Prince George’s County, and the D.C. area. And it helps provide Black businesses with leverage, so when they have important issues, they can go discuss them with their legislators.”
The three-hour breakfast concluded with a restatement of the committee’s legislative priorities and expectations for the coming year, along with a great amount of networking and sorely missed physical interaction.
Next year’s 24th Minority Legislative Breakfast will be hosted by the Montgomery County African American Chamber of Commerce.