Addressing some of the most controversial but relevant issues in America n from the renewal of the Voting Rights Act to the failure of college sports programs to graduate their players n the RainbowPUSH Coalition and the Citizenship Education Fund also echo the nation’s Founding Fathers and look to more recent historical giants in the 34th Annual Conference, “A More Perfect Union: Building on the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon B. Johnson.”
With the conference highlighting renewal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, there will be a focus on protecting and preserving the franchise. As we look to the renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, protecting the fragile rights we hold dear, we acknowledge the courageous leadership of two men who led this nation to that landmark legislation as part of a grand vision of a better America n one that would truly be the land of opportunity for all.
As the conference begins, the U.S. Senate will be preparing to vote on the nomination of Judge Janice Brown, and the Senate should evaluate her record before confirming her. I am extremely disappointed in the Senate’s compromise of the long-standing rules on filibusters; it is no victory for civil rights.
We call on Democrats and those who support the Constitution to stand up and vote against this right-wing ideologue.
The compromise has more than the appearance of capitulation to the Republican right wing’s demand to allow votes to be cast on three of President Bush’s nominees with extremist, ultra-conservative records. Justice Brown is a judicial activist, who seeks to make law, not interpret it. She is hostile to the interest of civil rights, worker rights and the environment.
While the Senate rules are, for the time being, protected and preserved for a future battle of Supreme Court nominees, focus must now be placed on the judicial records of President Bush’s nominees.
They are far out of the mainstream with appalling records on civil rights and liberties.
They are unfit, and it is our hope that the United States will stand up for constitutional rights and principles and vote down their nominations.
Please join us June 11-16 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers as we discuss the subjects of importance to African Americans and more.
A stellar array of guests scheduled to appear during the conference includes, from the political arena, Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Congresswoman Maxine Waters D-Calif.); and from the religious, entertainment and business arenas, Nation of Islam Leader Minister Louis Farrakhan, activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte, and prominent business executives Cathy Hughes and Earl Graves.
