Fairness in the Work Place, the
Marketplace and the Public Square
Creating Opportunity Headliners and Legends
Doug Shipman, Keith
Parker, Roger Bobb, G G Dixon, Joseph Leonard,
Horace King, Clarence
Pope, Larry West, Richard Applebee, Chuck Kinnebrew, Tommy Dortch, Terrez
Thompson, Rita Samuel, Byron Perkins,
Hank Stewart,
Patricia Smith, The Wardlaw Brothers, Johnnie Booker
and Rev. Jesse L.
Jackson, Sr.
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Citizenship Education
Fund will host their 14th Annual Creating Opportunity Conference in
Atlanta, November 1-2 at the Hyatt Regency, 265 Peachtree Street, 30303. This year’s conference agenda 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 the highest
potential.
Rainbow PUSH has worked with
hundreds of families across the nation to avoid foreclosure and retain their
homes. 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 Conference also presents Financial Literacy, featuring Wells
Fargo’s Hands On Banking
Internet-based curriculum, to promote neighborhood stabilization and home
retention. According to RPC Vice
President Janice Mathis, “we are working on three fronts: 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. According to
Rev. Jackson, “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 Moanica 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.
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, 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. A special surprise guest will be on hand as
well.
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 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, regional leaders will discuss the
fate and future of the progressive agenda.
The following persons will be
honored for their contributions to civic and economic life during the
conference Keep Hope Alive Gala: Dr.
Joseph Leonard, Assistant Secretary of the USDA for Civil Rights and Tommy
Dortch.
The Wardlaw Brothers and the Jean
Childs Young Middle School Jazz Band will perform at the Keep Hope Alive Gala which
celebrates Rev. Jackson’s birthday and benefits the work of RPC, CEF and
families facing economic insecurity.
For More Information, call 404 525 5663 or
visit www.rainbowpushatlanta.org