WASHINGTON -- May 5 -- Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and members of African American Ministers in Action will cast the filibuster fight in terms of the long-term consequences for civil rights – and shed some light on the nominations of Janice Rogers Brown and Priscilla Owen Friday – at an 11:45 a.m. news conference at the Hilton Washington.

Speakers will argue that the civil rights gains of previous decades could be lost if the filibuster is eliminated and appellate court nominees like Brown and Owen are installed onto the federal bench. They will discuss the role of the filibuster in protecting minority rights and minority voices and the role it plays as the last check and balance in the United States Congress.

Scheduled speakers are:

• Congressman Elijah Cummings, immediate past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus

• Rev. Timothy McDonald, Chair of African American Ministers in Action

• Bishop Edward Turner, Power of Love Christian Fellowship (Los Angeles, California)

• Rev. Charles Stovall, Camp Wisdom United Methodist Church (Dallas, Texas)

African American Ministers in Action is a project of People For the American Way. The press conference will take place in the Monroe West room on the Concourse Level of the Hilton Washington.

WHO: African American Ministers in Action and Congressman Elijah Cummings

WHAT: Press Conference

WHEN: 11:45 a.m. Friday, May 6

WHERE: Monroe West Room

Hilton Washington

1919 Connecticut Avenue

Washington, DC

WHY: To speak out in support of a fair and independent judiciary that will protect the social justice gains of the last several decades.

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