| 2007 Grand Gala Dinner Fulfilling the African Renaissance by Bringing Together a Continent Looking to the Future |
| New York City |
|
| Gaborone, Botswana |
 | |  | |  | |  |
 | |  | |  |
|
|
|
Donald M. Payne, a native of Newark , New Jersey , was elected to
represent the 10th Congressional District of New Jersey in 1988 as New
Jersey 's first African American Congressman by an overwhelming
majority and has been returned by a wide margin of the vote in each
subsequent election. In 2006, he won election to his tenth term to
represent the 10th District in the historic 110th Congress. A past
Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, he is a member of the
Democratic Whip Organization and has served as a member of the
House Democratic Leadership Advisory Group.
He formerly served on the powerful Democratic Steering Committee,
whose membership determines each individual committee assignment
for Democratic members and plays an active role in shaping the
legislative agenda. Through his efforts in Washington, several million
dollars for economic development and other key programs have been
allocated to Essex, Hudson and Union Counties in his Congressional
District.
In 2003, President Bush appointed Payne as one of two members of
Congress to serve as a Congressional delegate to the United Nations
and reappointed him in 2005 to an unprecedented second term. In this
role, he has met with the U.N. Secretary General, the U.S. Ambassador to
the U.N. and regularly attended sessions of the U.N. General Assembly
and other high level meetings. He is a member of the House Committee
on Education and Labor, where he serves on two subcommittees—the
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections and the Subcommittee on Early
Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, which has jurisdiction
over the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.
represent the 10th Congressional District of New Jersey in 1988 as New
Jersey 's first African American Congressman by an overwhelming
majority and has been returned by a wide margin of the vote in each
subsequent election. In 2006, he won election to his tenth term to
represent the 10th District in the historic 110th Congress. A past
Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, he is a member of the
Democratic Whip Organization and has served as a member of the
House Democratic Leadership Advisory Group.
He formerly served on the powerful Democratic Steering Committee,
whose membership determines each individual committee assignment
for Democratic members and plays an active role in shaping the
legislative agenda. Through his efforts in Washington, several million
dollars for economic development and other key programs have been
allocated to Essex, Hudson and Union Counties in his Congressional
District.
In 2003, President Bush appointed Payne as one of two members of
Congress to serve as a Congressional delegate to the United Nations
and reappointed him in 2005 to an unprecedented second term. In this
role, he has met with the U.N. Secretary General, the U.S. Ambassador to
the U.N. and regularly attended sessions of the U.N. General Assembly
and other high level meetings. He is a member of the House Committee
on Education and Labor, where he serves on two subcommittees—the
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections and the Subcommittee on Early
Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, which has jurisdiction
over the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.
|
Presenting the African Grand Leadership Award to Congressman
Donald Payne, Chairman, Sub-Committee on Africa of the House
Foreign Relations Committee is Her Excellency Mrs. Maria de
Fatima Lima da Veiga, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotenitary and Permanent Representative of Cape Verde to
the United Nations, while Mrs. Aissiatou Ndao, President of the
Women's wing of the Association of Senegalese in America, and
Dr. Chika Onyeani, Chair/CEO of the Celebrate Africa Foundation
look on. (Photos by John Oko Nyaku)
Donald Payne, Chairman, Sub-Committee on Africa of the House
Foreign Relations Committee is Her Excellency Mrs. Maria de
Fatima Lima da Veiga, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotenitary and Permanent Representative of Cape Verde to
the United Nations, while Mrs. Aissiatou Ndao, President of the
Women's wing of the Association of Senegalese in America, and
Dr. Chika Onyeani, Chair/CEO of the Celebrate Africa Foundation
look on. (Photos by John Oko Nyaku)
