By Kathy Wray Coleman, Publisher, Editor-n-Chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper

WASHINGTON D.C. - Ohio Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge( D-11) (pictured), a Warrensville Hts. Democrat, was elected the 123rd chairperson of the 43-member Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday by a unanimous vote of her peers.

The only Black congressperson from Ohio whose 11th congressional district includes the predominantly Black east side Cleveland and its eastern suburbs of Cuyahoga County and a part of Akron and staggering parts of its Summit County suburbs, Fudge said that she is honored to have been chosen.

"I am humbled by the vote of confidence of my colleagues who have selected me to serve as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus during the the 113th Congress," said Fudge, 60, a former Warrensville Hts, Oh mayor and past national  president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. "Leadership of the CBC will be shared among all officers elected and I will continue to work hard and serve with dedication the people who sent me to Congress,"

Current caucus chairman Emanuel Cleaver praised Fudge, who was among a cadre of influential Democratic officials from Ohio that help President Obama win re-election by winning Ohio, a pivotal state for presidential elections.

"Marcia Fudge is an excellent leader," said Cleaver, a Democrat who represent's Missouri's fifth congressional district. "She has served her constituents and the state of Ohio with unmatched fervor and has been an outspoken member of the CBC in supporting policies that protect the most vulnerable in our country."

Fudge said  that "as members of the Congressional Black Caucus, we call ourselves the conscience of the Congress for a reason. We are a collective voice for millions of people around the country who need us to champion their issues and protect their future."

The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization of nearly all of the Black members of Congress and is exclusive to Blacks.

First elected to Congress in 2008 pursuant to a special election after the death of former U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Fudge is Ohio's most powerful Black politician.

She said that the organization will remain concerned about high rates of employment, particularly among African Americans for whom the jobless rate remains in double digits, and  about making equal access to quality healthcare a reality, reducing poverty and related issues, preserving and strengthening social security, medicare and medicaid, among other issues.

The congresswoman said also that she looks "forward to leading this venerable caucus, and to speak and act on behalf of its members who share a vision and commitment to move our nation forward."

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