Champions of Community Development Award Presented at Washington, D.C. Event
Once a year, African American legislators come together to talk policy issues, pending legislation and celebration of accomplishments in Washington, D.C., at the Congressional Black Congress (CBC). It was at this year’s event in September that Community Builders of Kansas City (CBKC) President and CEO Emmet Pierson, Jr., was able to join national leaders from Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), Wells Fargo Bank and the National Alliance of Community and Economic Development Associations (NACEDA) to present U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II with the Champions of Community Development Award. The award recognizes commitment to the advancement of initiatives that promote economic growth and equity in local communities.
“It was an honor to be in the room with other prominent national community development professionals,” said Pierson. “Rep. Cleaver has devoted his entire career to community economic initiatives for people of color, including affordable housing and employment opportunities.”
Cleaver was elected as Kansas City, Missouri’s first African American mayor in 1991 and served 12 years on the city council. As mayor, he distinguished himself as an economic development and redevelopment activist leading the effort to build and name the Bruce R. Watkins Roadway and working closely with CBKC on the reconstruction and beautification of Brush Creek.
Cleaver is now serving his 10th term representing Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District. Among his accomplishments is the creation of a Green Impact Zone, the redevelopment of 150 blocks of blighted and crime-ridden urban core that has received approximately $125 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment funds. The Green Impact Zone’s purpose is to convert a high-crime area into the environmentally greenest piece of urban geography in the world. The project includes rebuilding Troost Avenue; rehabbing bridges, curbs and sidewalks; home weatherization; smart grid technology in hundreds of homes; and most importantly, creating hundreds of much-needed jobs for Green Zone residents.
In 2016, as ranking member of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, Cleaver successfully co-authored the largest sweeping reform bill on housing programs in 20 years, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, a bipartisan comprehensive housing bill that passed into law with a unanimous vote.
“I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Rep. Cleaver throughout my career and consider him a friend as well, so it was especially gratifying to see him rewarded with the Champions of Community Development Award for his dedication to Kansas City community development,” said Pierson.
About the CBC
Founded in 1971, the mission of the Congressional Black Caucus is to address and advocate for legislative initiatives that promote the interests and concerns of African Americans and other marginalized communities with a focus on social, economic and political justice.