For the past seven years, the award-winning D.C.-based blog, The Fab Empire, has released their annual “Insider’s Guide to Congressional Black Caucus Week,” which serves as a go-to pamphlet for young black professionals seeking the best receptions, happy hours and parties during the conference.
“We started the ‘Insider’s Guide to Congressional Black Caucus Week’ because back then, young professionals in D.C. didn’t know how to navigate the Annual Legislative Conference,” says The Fab Empire creator Joi-Marie McKenzie. “It’s a four-day conference, but during the after hours there were so many receptions and parties that people weren’t aware of. I’d be tweeting from the events and so many of my colleagues responded like, ‘Wait. This is in D.C.!?’ We created the guide to make it easier for people to network and rub elbows with a celebrity or two.”
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This year’s guide is bigger than ever with 32 pages that detail the best networking events for those attending the annual conference, which attracts more than 100,000 lawmakers, celebrities, and concerned citizens. This year’s Phoenix Awards Dinner, taking place on Sat., Sept. 19, will even have President Barack Obama serving as the keynote speaker.
For young professionals who plan to attend the conference for the first time this year, McKenzie says her best advice is to “prepare, prepare, prepare.”
“Use our guide to create a daily schedule for yourself. You can easily hit up three receptions in one day if you plan accordingly and use Uber or another taxi service around D.C.,” adds McKenzie. “Ladies, be
sure to wear comfortable shoes when attending the conference and after-hour receptions. And everyone should come with a two minute pitch about yourself because D.C. is fortunately and unfortunately the land of, ‘So what do you do?’ Lastly, business cards are mandatory.”So see The Fab Empire’s full list of events for young black professionals to attend, take a look at their guide below.