Washington, D.C. — Congressman G.K. Butterfield, Co-Chair of the Congressional DTV Coalition and a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will convene a special session on “Navigating the Digital Era: What African Americans Need to Know About the New Digital Age.”
The forum will be held Wednesday, September 26, 2007, from 12-2pm, in room 202A at the Washington Convention Center.
On February 17, 2009, at least 69 million television sets in more than 34 million households are at risk of loosing free, over-the-air television reception. The forum will feature Francine Jefferson of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Marcellus Alexander, President, National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation, Robert Townsend, President and CEO of Productions for the Black Family Channel and Wade Henderson, President, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
These experts will join other industry and community leaders to discuss how this federally mandated transition from analog to digital television broadcasting may affect communities of color, the economically disadvantaged, senior citizens, and those living in rural areas.
“The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 37th Annual Legislative Conference, entitled ‘Unleashing Our Power,’ promises to be an exciting event with timely and newsworthy presentations and legislative updates by the CBC Members and experts from around the country,” said Butterfield, a Board member of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
Additionally, the panel will address the impact of the digital divide on our communities as well as ways to close this gap through increased access to affordable broadband and affordability of competitive video services.