African-American Ministers Put Gulf Coast in Focus at New Orleans Conference
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
While President Bush failed to mention Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in last night’s State of the Union speech, African-American ministers and lay leaders will put the devastated region in focus at their annual meeting, to take place in New Orleans February 5-8. The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc., the nation’s fastest growing ecumenical, social justice organization, will convene its 4th annual meeting, “In the Wake of Katrina: Lest We Forget…Call To Renewal” to address concerns surrounding Hurricane Katrina restoration and to examine public policies affecting the African-American church and community.
Participants will take “Sacred Pilgrimages” to hurricane-ravaged areas to engage in hands-on-ministry and help restore homes, churches and communities. Open forums, powerful evening worship and commemorative sunrise services are planned for the 1,000 nationally-recognized civil rights leaders, ministers and community advocates scheduled to attend.
The Conference has released “the breach: Bearing Witness,” a comprehensive report by the National Katrina Justice Commission (sponsored by SDPC), with introductory remarks by Sen. Barack Obama, (D-IL), which includes 23 recommendations on Gulf Coast restoration and highlights stories of those who were displaced. The report includes testimony from first responders, evacuees, political officials, Red Cross and FEMA and sheds light on the public policy implications the hurricane has had on Homeland Security, poverty, race and class-based disparities.
WHO:
• The Honorable James E. Clyburn (D-SC), House Majority Whip, U. S. Congress
• Atty. Marian Wright Edelman, Founder/President of Children’s Defense Fund. Washington, DC
• The Honorable Cynthia Willard-Lewis of New Orleans City Council
• Rev. Al Sharpton, National Action Network, New York, NY
• Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Senior Pastor, The Riverside Church, New York, New York
• Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, IL
• Dr. Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., professor and author of The Politics of Jesus, Montclair, NJ
• Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, Interfaith Alliance Foundation, Washington, DC
• Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio
• Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson, North American President World Council of Churches, New Orleans, LA
WHEN: February 5th – 8th, 2007, see Proctor program for details www.sdpconference.info
WHERE: Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA
500 Canal Street (504) 525-2500
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