The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Citizenship Education Fund will host their 14th Annual Creating Opportunity Conference in Atlanta, Nov.1-2 at the Hyatt Regency with an agenda that focuses on financial literacy, business growth and development, job creation, civil rights enforcement and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
The purpose of the conference is to promote fairness in contracting, hiring, retention and promotion, as well as fair terms and conditions in purchasing, lending and investment. The conference will also inspire youth and their parents to take advantage of every opportunity to achieve their highest potential.
“Rainbow PUSH has worked with hundreds of families across the nation to avoid foreclosure and retain their homes,” said regional Rainbow PUSH Vice President Janice Mathis. “It also pushed progressive ideas such as the infrastructure bank, student debt forgiveness and principal reduction to spread the recovery throughout the economy beyond Washington and Wall Street.”
The Keep Hope Alive Gala will honor Dr. Joseph Leonard, Assistant Secretary of the USDA for Civil Rights and Tommy Dortch, founder of 100 Black Men for their contributions to civic and economic life during the conference.
The Conference also presents Financial Literacy, featuring Wells Fargo’s Hands On Banking Internet-based curriculum, to promote neighborhood stabilization and home retention.
“We are working on three fronts,” Mathis said. “We aim to improve public policy at the state and federal levels; promote urban and rural economic development and job creation and help families and congregations escape or avoid poverty by making sure they have as much knowledge as possible. Federal investment is designed to spur economic recovery, but without participation by unemployed persons and underutilized firms, the stimulus cannot achieve its purpose.
“As Rev. Jesse Jackson says, ‘We cannot just water the leaves, we must also stimulate the roots to revive the economy.'”
Small business owners will get a bird’s eye view of how investments in critical infrastructure creates contracting and job opportunities from some of the largest public and private players including MARTA, Georgia Power Co. and The Coca-Cola Company. G.G. Dixon and Monica Caston, two executives on the rise, will speak at the Business Breakfast on Friday morning.
A session on Voting Rights is being led by noted Birmingham lawyer Byron Perkins (Coca-Cola and John Deere) because the right to vote is under attack and defines the freedoms, obligations and rights enjoyed by all Americans, Mathis said.
Students will get a roadmap to “Life Beyond the Playing Field and the Stage” under the direction of Dextor Clinkscale, former safety for the Dallas Cowboys. RPC will recognize the contributions of Horace King (veteran of the Detroit Lions), Clarence Pope, Larry West, Richard Applebee, Chuck Kinnebrew, the class of African Americans who were the first scholarship athletes to play for the storied University of Georgia. Storied UGA Coach and Athletic Director Vince Dooley will be on hand to tell the story of his 1971 recruits.
Also on Saturday, Axel Adams will facilitate the Youth Summit, as a new generation of leaders takes the stage to discuss solutions to issues that uniquely impact young people, including Hip-hop culture, violence and bullying. Emory University, Georgia Tech and other colleges and universities will participate in the annual College Fair.
On Friday, the Jesse Jackson Public Policy Institute will present a public policy roundtable, focused on state and local government. Participants include Charleston, South Carolina state representative Dave Mack, S.C. Black Caucus Chair Rep. Harold Mitchell, Georgia State Sen. Gail P. Davenport and Louisiana Black Caucus Chair Patricia A. Smith. Racial profiling, voter ID, gun control, financial aid, health care are all dictated to some degree by state legislation and local ordinances.
Fairer government requires broad engagement. The session will take on the issue of the State of the Southern Rainbow. In the wake of recent conservative political gains and ubiquitous ALEC inspired legislation, regional leaders will discuss the fate and future of the progressive agenda.
The Wardlaw Brothers and the Jean Childs Young Middle School Jazz Band will perform at the Keep Hope Alive Gala which also celebrates Rev. Jackson’s birthday and benefits the work of RPC, CEF and families facing economic insecurity.
For More Information, Contact Rob Woods at 404 525 5663 or visit www.rainbowpushatlanta.org
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