Political notes: Ivey co-chairs CBCF, Ausby to Appellate Court, another Haley honored

Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-4th) will join Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) next week as co-chairs for the  Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 55th annual legislative conference next week in Washington.

Thousands of elected officials, entrepreneurs and community leaders are expected at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for the Sept. 16-20 conference, which this year is themed “Rooted, Ready & Rising.” It coincides with the 50th anniversary of the nonprofit caucus foundation that conducts policy research and implements programs. The program will also feature a college fair, a fashion show and about 100 panel discussions on topics such as voting rights, education and criminal justice reform.

“The Annual Legislative Conference has stood the test of time as a homecoming for Black political power and thought,” foundation President and CEO Nicole Austin-Hillery said in a statement. “This year, that has never been more urgent. Rooted, Ready and Rising captures the spirit of a community that has never waited for permission to lead. It is at once a celebration of what has been built over 50 years and a charge to the generation inheriting the work.”

A proud history and a cloudy future: Congressional Black Caucus hit by Supreme Court ruling

Ivey’s turn is the second consecutive year the conference has been co-chaired by a Maryland lawmaker, after Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) served in that position last year. Alsobrooks, who made history in 2024 as the first Black woman from Maryland elected to the U.S. Senate, was part of the largest membership of 62 Democrats in conference history.

Since then, however, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted racial protections in the Voting Rights Act in its April ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which said states’ use of race-based redistricting is an “unconstitutional racial gerrymander.” Analysts have said the seats of as many as 20 members of the Congressional Black Caucus could be threatened this year, as Republican states have rushed to redraw congressional boundaries less favorable to minority voters.

Ivey was elected in November 2022 and currently serves on the House Appropriations and Ethics committees. Since becoming a member of the caucus, he’s participated in various programs and events and hosted a panel discussion almost three years ago on how a U.S. Supreme Court decision on affirmative action could affect Black-owned businesses.

Another Haley honored at UMES

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) on Tuesday will formally rename the university’s School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences in honor of Simon A. Haley, an agriculture educator and the father of Alex Haley, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.”

Simon Haley was a professor and dean of agriculture. He was born in 1892 and died in 1973. During his life, he served in World War I and the graduated from Agricultural and Technical College State College, now known as North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina.

When Alex Haley was born in 1921, his father Simon was a graduate student in agriculture at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Alex Haley’s book, “Roots,” which began with stories a young Alex heard family members retell, celebrated its 50th anniversary last month.

According to UMES faculty assembly minutes from February, school officials said that rebranding the agriculture school with Simon Haley’s name “would help distinguish UMES among HBCUs and nationally, as relatively few HBCUs have formally branded schools or colleges.”

The minutes cite Robert Vickers, the school’s vice president for strategic communications and marketing, saying the Haley name “can strengthen institutional visibility, marketing impact, fundraising potential, and alumni engagement, while also enhancing opportunities for partnerships and external support.” They also said the Haley family had been involved in the renaming with Chris Haley, a nephew of Alex Haley’s who works at the Maryland State Archives, acting as family liaison.

Ausby elevated Appellate Court of Maryland

Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced the appointment Thursday of Kendra Young Ausby to a seat on the Appellate Court of Maryland.

Ausby has served as an associate judge on the Baltimore City Circuit since 2010, and was appointed as an associate judge by special appointment on the Appellate Court in 2024. While on the circuit court  bench, she has handled cases ranging from medical malpractice to delinquency to constitutional criminal procedure, according to the governor’s announcement, and has served as the judge in charge of the Family/Domestic Division.

Prior to her time on the bench, she worked as an assistant public defender, an assistant attorney general for the Department of Juvenile Services and principal counsel for the courts and judicial affairs division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. Ausby received her law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1997.

“It is an honor to appoint Judge Kendra Young Ausby to the Appellate Court of Maryland,” Moore said. “With her deep legal expertise and dedication to her community, I know Judge Ausby will advance justice under the law and serve our state well.”