Kappas on Capitol Hill

The James "Biff" Carter Legislative Conference (aka "Kappas on Capitol Hill") brings together members of Kappa Alpha Psi to effect meaningful change. Once every year, the group meets in the District of Columbia to understand current legislation that affects members of our communities, and to develop talking points and plans of action for engaging elected representatives in the House, the Senate, and respective state assemblies, and local city halls. The event also creates opportunities for community leaders in the fraternity to meet with, and hear from current members of the House and Senate, who are also members of the fraternity. Since 1980, 13 members of the fraternity have served in the United States House of Representatives, the most by any member organization of the National Pan Hellenic Council.

History
The Kappa Alpha Psi Legislative Conference, as it was originally named, was established by Congressman John Conyers (Gamma Eta, 1951) in 2002. The event was originally conceived by James T. Carter Jr. (Xi, 1948), a retired teacher from the DC public school system, who became an aide to Congressman Conyers. It was Carter's vision to leverage to size and breadth of the fraternity to mobilize legislators, regulators, and activists, and, at the same time, bolster the influence of the Congressional Black Caucus. After Carter died in 1999, the event was renamed in his honor. Some of the topics discussed at the annual James "Biff" Carter Legislative Conference include immigration policy, criminal justice reform, voting rights, and United States Supreme Court vacancies.

In 2018, newly-elected Congressman A. Donald McEachin (Beta Kappa, 1980) developed and hosted the first ever Kappa League on Capitol Hill program. This one day event brings together teenage members of the fraternity's Kappa League from various chapters to learn about careers in government, meet current members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and tour the Capitol.