WASHINGTON�Year 2000 elections will find the National Political Congress of Black Women (NPCBW) working for the election of men and women who are committed to their issues. A Democratic victory in the House could mean four Black lawmakers chairing congressional committees and 30 Black congressmen chairing subcommittee chairs, with greater power to set agendas and raise issues, NPCBW noted.

In an exclusive interview with The Final Call at their recent biennial convention here, NPCBW founder and chair Dr. C. DeLores Tucker explained the role Black women should play in 2000 elections. "We must engage in an African American women�s crusade. The vote is very crucial to making sure the right programs for children are in place. We who are women need to politicize our message," said Dr. Tucker.

The NPCBW plans to establish an issues platform to be addressed by all political candidates. "Do they hold the banner high for our issues? Quality education and affordable childcare are important. Childcare must be added to welfare reform," said Dr. Tucker, highlighting several issues.

"All the needs for children must be addressed by the city house, state house, White House and Congress house," she said.

The group is planning to be involved early in get out the vote and voter registration drives.

The NPCBW lobbied hard for the appointment of Black women in the Clinton administration, supporting presidential appointments of Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, Judge Mary Terrell, U.S. Attorney Wilma Lewis and Diane Watson, ambassador to Micronesia. Currently NPCBW is supporting appointment of former Illinois Senator Carol Mosley Braun as ambassador to New Zealand.

As a result of NPCBW efforts, Dr. Tucker said, "African American women have been appointed to office more often."

The theme of the conference was "Passing the Torch and Charting the Course to the Next Millennium." The conference logo represented this commitment for change with three generations of women cradling a baby, showing the need to provide for Black children.

"We want to make sure that every child has all it needs to be successful, including the right health care and the right education," said Dr. Tucker. "We must train them so they will never be homeless, motherless, fatherless or hopeless. We must provide a nurturing nest for every child."

Labor Secretary Herman; Dr. Yvonne Scruggs-Letwich, director of the Black Leadership Forum, Inc.; Diane Williams, first lady of Washington, D.C.; activist Dick Gregory and Jamie Foster Brown, publisher of Sister 2 Sister magazine, were among conference participants.

An awards brunch recognized the work of honorees Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton of Minneapolis, Minn., entertainers Ossie Davis and Ms. Ruby Dee; Christine Farris King, educator and sister of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dr. Dorothy I. Height, president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women.

"I think of Dr. Height as the Labor Secretary�s labor secretary," said Ms. Herman. "I�ve never done anything in my life without consulting her. She is one of the greatest legacies in the 20th century."

Over a four-day period conferees were exposed to a variety of workshops and guest speakers that highlighted NPCBW program initiatives. From legislative summits to their adopt-a-child-campaign to commissions for presidential appointments of Black women to entertainment issues, presenters and participants debated a variety of subjects.