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Every September, tens of thousands of people come to what was once D.C. (or what was once known as “Chocolate City”) for Congressional Black Caucus Weekend expecting a few good parties and leave having missed the actual point of the trip (and no, it’s not to find a husband, but hey, if that’s what you’re coming for, we also can’t knock it). Beyond the parties, link ups, networking events and “afties” there’s also policy sessions, braintrusts, and panels, that really should be invested in just as heavily.
DO. Register early and build a real schedule.
Pick three or four sessions that actually serve your goals instead of trying to be everywhere at once. The strongest programming, especially the smaller braintrusts, fills up fast once CBCF releases its session list, and by the time you’re standing in the convention center deciding between five overlapping panels, the good ones are already at capacity.
DON’T. Let the parties become the whole trip.
The afties are fun, and you’ll spot half your Instagram feed at them at some point or another, guaranteed. But the access you’ll get during this weekend is the kind you can’t get any other week of the year. The people making policy decisions that affect your community are in these buildings all day. Meet them before you meet them at the bar.
DO. Wear shoes you can actually walk in.
I cannot stress this one enough. The convention center is massive. Save the heels for the gala.
DON’T. Show up without a business card, digital or otherwise.
You’re in a room with congressional staffers, agency officials, founders, and journalists all at once, and fumbling for your phone while someone waits is not the move. A QR code linked to your LinkedIn works fine. What doesn’t work is realizing you have nothing ready right as the person you’ve been trying to meet all year walks up.
DON’T. Skip the smaller braintrusts to chase the big names.
The sessions on health policy, tech, and small business tend to have the sharpest, most specific information, and the panelists usually stick around after to actually talk to you.
DO. Put your money where the culture is.
For a lot of the vendors in the exhibit hall, this is the biggest sales window they’ll see in twelve months. Spend a little there. Talk to the founders while you’re at it. Skip the branded tote bag line and go find a Black owned brand worth supporting.
DON’T. Get stuck without a same-day backup plan. If you’re just now realizing you don’t have a room locked in (it’s already Wednesday by the way, so you’re super SUPER late at this point), check nearby Metro-accessible hotels outside the immediate convention center footprint rather than paying surge rates for something two blocks closer. And when rideshare prices spike between sessions and evening events, which they will, the Green and Yellow lines will get you most places faster and cheaper anyway.
DO. Leave room to actually process what you heard.
Information moves fast all weekend, and it blurs together if you let it. Take fifteen minutes each night to write down who you met and what needs a follow-up. What’s the point of a great conversation on day one if you can’t remember it by day four?
BONUS TIP. Between Secret Service protocols for high-profile attendees and regular D.C. congestion, nothing runs on the time you think it will. A motorcade can close off a few blocks with no warning, a “quick” credentialing line can eat twenty minutes you didn’t budget for. Build in the extra time.
CBC Weekend rewards the people who treat it like a working trip with some very good parties attached, not the other way around. Come with a plan, and you’ll leave with contacts and information worth more than anything in that tote bag (husband or no husband).