The Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI), also called the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute, engages in voter outreach and trains aspiring political leaders to advance left-of-center causes, particularly those that it claims will benefit Black voters. The institute is affiliated with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), an alliance of Black Democratic members of Congress. ^{1 2}

Background

The Congressional Black Caucus was established in 1971 by a group of Democratic U.S. Representatives to advance the interests of Black and other minority voters. The caucus agitates for a broad range of left-progressive policy outcomes. These include more permissive law enforcement and criminal justice systems, increased taxation and redistribution of wealth, and accelerated immigration and demographic change. The CBC supported the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, as part of its broader goal of implementing a universal taxpayer-funded healthcare system. The caucus also supports expanding American foreign aid to third-world countries, particularly in Africa. In November 2014, after a grand jury refused to indict a police officer for killing Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black man who had attacked him, ³ the CBC released a statement claiming that the decision to not indict the officer meant that “you may kill Black men in this country without consequences or repercussions.” ⁴ The statement came out during ongoing riots and civil unrest in the city of Ferguson, Missouri, and following a Department of Justice investigation which cleared the officer of wrongdoing under federal civil rights laws. ^{5 6}

Initiatives and Impact

In the spring of 2017, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute became a consulting organization to the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The council is one of the six main deliberating bodies of the UN and serves as the main forum for discussing economic and social policy recommendations to UN members. The institute endorses the UN’s “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” which recommends left-progressive policies related to race, environmentalism, and wealth redistribution. ⁷

In September 2021, Vanessa Griddine-Jones, then-executive director of the CBCI, participated in what the institute described as a “high level meeting” with foreign leaders and United Nations officials. Present at the meeting was Natalia Kanem, the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, which promotes abortion and population control, particularly in developing and least-developed countries. Griddine-Jones and other participants endorsed race-based handouts as a form of reparations for slavery and alleged continuing systemic discrimination against black people in the United States and other countries. ⁸

Leadership

Bennie Thompson, a Democratic U.S. Representative from Mississippi, is the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. Thompson is the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and was previously assigned to the Agriculture, Budget, and Small Business Committees. ⁹

Vanessa Griddine-Jones is the executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. She previously worked on the staff of U.S. Representatives Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and Alcee Hastings (D-FL). Griddine-Jones was also a senior advisor and speechwriter to the president of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly. In this capacity, she worked on initiatives to exert pressure on the internal affairs of nations such as Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan. In particular, she touts her role in observing the so-called 2004 “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine. ¹⁰

Financials

In 2019, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute generated more than $3.5 million in total revenue. The institute’s top funders included the Walton Family Foundation, the charitable outlet of the family of Walmart founder Sam Walton, and the 21st Century Council, the business association affiliated with the CBCI. ^{11 12}

1. Congressional Black Caucus Institute. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.cbcinstitute.org/
2. “Congressional Black Caucus.” Ballotpedia. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Congressional_Black_Caucus
3. Gunshots, Looting After Grand Jury in Ferguson Case Does Not Indict Officer in Michael Brown Shooting.” Fox News. Accessed January 25, 2022. https://www.foxnews.com/us/gunshots-looting-after-grand-jury-in-ferguson-case-does-not-indict-officer-in-michael-brown-shooting.
4. “CBC Chair Marcia L. Fudge’s Statement on the Ferguson Grand Jury Decision.” Congressional Black Caucus. Accessed January 25, 2022. https://cbc.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=240.
5. “Congressional Black Caucus.” Ballotpedia. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Congressional_Black_Caucus
6. “Department of Justice Report Regarding the Criminal Investigation into the Shooting Death of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Missouri Police Officer Darren Wilson.” Department of Justice. March 4, 2015. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/doj_report_on_shooting_of_michael_brown_1.pdf
7. “CBCI Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic & Social Council.” Congressional Black Caucus Institute. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.cbcinstitute.org/gadi
8. “Reparations, Racial Justice, and Equality for People of African Descent.” Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.cbcinstitute.org/post/reparationsracialjusticeandequalityforpeopleofafricandescent
9. “Chairman Bennie G. Thompson.” Congressional Black Caucus Institute. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.cbcinstitute.org/rep-bennie-thompson
10. “Vanessa Griddine-Jones.” Congressional Black Caucus Institute. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.cbcinstitute.org/vanessagriddinejones
11. Congressional Black Caucus Political Education & Leadership Council 2019 Internal Revenue Service Form 990. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/522270607/08_2021_prefixes_47-58%2F522270607_201912_990O_2021082418749322
12. “21st Century Council.” Congressional Black Caucus Institute. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.cbcinstitute.org/21stcenturycouncil