The Rainbow PUSH Coalition this week previewed confirmed speakers for its Annual Symposium, “The Future of Civil Rights: Moving towards First Class Economic, Political and Digital Citizenship.” On December 4, 2014, the Symposium will be held at Comcast, 300 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Suite 700 in Washington, D.C. from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. On December 5, 2014, the Symposium will be held at the Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm. An evening “Legacy Affair” reception honoring Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., Founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and a special tribute to late DC Mayor, Marion Barry is scheduled for December 4, 2014 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Capital Hilton. Special musical guests will include R&B songstress, Fantasia and gospel recording artist Ricky Dillard and the Ebenezer AME Church Choir.
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition welcome leading civil rights activists, policy experts and government officials to this year’s conference. Highlighting the conference sessions and panels are Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., Founder, Rainbow PUSH Coalition; The Honorable Barbara Lee; Jeff Johnson, chief of strategy, Illume communications; Angela Rye, president, IMPACT and political commentator; Reverend Lennox Yearwood, president and CEO, The Hip Hop Caucus; Larry Irving, president and CEO, Irving Strategies and former assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information; Roland Martin, journalist and host, News One Now; Dean Garfield, president and CEO, Information Technology Industry Council; Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee, vice president and chief research and policy officer, Minority Media and Telecom Council; Ambassador Karen Kornbluh, executive vice president, Nielsen and former ambassador, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Judge Glenda Hatchett, author and motivational speaker; and, Hill Harper, actor, author and social activist.
The Annual Symposium will kick off with a Breakfast Plenary on December 4 discussing “What Ferguson is Teaching Us about the New Civil Rights Struggle, the Media and the Internet,” featuring Reverend Jackson and other distinguished leaders. Day one of the conference will also include discussions about the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley and how to bring about social, economic and political equality for communities of color. Other special events that day include the Legacy Affair, honoring the 30th Anniversary of Reverend Jackson’s Presidential Run, and a full tribute to the late DC Mayor Marion Barry. Twelve leaders that include the Honorable John Conyers; the Honorable Maxine Waters; the Honorable Bobby Rush; the Honorable Frederica Wilson; Donna Brazile, political strategist; and Michael Blake, NYS Assemblyman-Elect, among others, will be honored.
On December 5, the Symposium will feature a Breakfast Plenary on the history and act of surveillance and online privacy threats for communities of color, along with concurrent sessions focused on the future of the digital economy, international models for broadband adoption and positive media images for communities of color on the screen and in print media. Afternoon concurrent sessions will focus on financial literacy training and the state of voting rights in the African American community. Other scheduled events on December 5 include a Luncheon and Award Ceremony, “The New Wealth: Leveraging Media and Telecom Assets to Create Economic Opportunity for People of Color.” The plenary will also include the distribution of four Public Advocate Awards to distinguished leaders.
A full list of speakers and honorees confirmed to date includes:
- Tenisha Taylor Bell, president, Perfect Pitch Media Group (honoree)
- Everett Bellamy, senior assistant dean, Georgetown Law Center
- Michael Blake, assemblyman-elect, NYS 79th Assembly and former Obama Aide (honoree)
- Donna Brazile, political strategist (honoree)
- Anita Bonds, DC council member-at-large (honoree)
- Sheri Booker, award winning author and poet
- Reverend Grainger Browning, senior pastor, Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church
- Ronald Busby, president and CEO, US Black Chambers, Inc.
- Paul Butler, general manager, ASPiRE
- Sha-Shana Crichton, assistant professor, Howard University Law School
- Myra Dandridge, National Association of Broadcasters
- Avis Jones-DeWeever, president and CEO, Incite Unlimited
- Derrick Dingle, senior vice president and editor-in-chief, Black Enterprise
- Dean Garfield, president and CEO, Information Technology Industry Council
- Dipayan Ghosh, fellow, Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House
- Will Hall, national youth director, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
- Chanelle Hardy, senior vice president and executive director, National Urban League
- Hill Harper, actor, author and social activist (honoree)
- Judge Glenda Hatchett, author and motivational speaker
- David Honig, president emeritus, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
- John Horrigan, independent researcher
- Larry Irving, president and CEO, Irving Strategies
- Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., founder, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
- Joycelyn James, tech and innovation analyst, Office of the Mayor-District of Columbia
- Jeff Johnson, chief of strategy, Illume Communications
- Eunique Gibson Jones, creator, Because of Them We Can (honoree)
- Steven Jumper, CEO, Ghostnote Agency
- Kim Keenan, president and CEO, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC)
- Danielle Kehl, policy analyst, Open Technology Institute, New America Foundation
- Gracie Lawson-Borders, dean, Howard University School of Communications (honoree)
- The Honorable Barbara Lee (D-CA)
- Charisse Lilllie, vice president, community investment, Comcast (honoree)
- Tanya Lombard, assistant vice president, AT&T (honoree)
- Roland Martin, journalist and host, News One Now (honoree)
- Mee Moua, president and executive director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice
- Minyon Moore, founder, Women Building for the Future and partner, Dewey Square Group (honoree)
- Reverend Michael Murphy, senior pastor, People’s Congregational UCC
- Bret Perkins, vice president, External Affairs, Comcast
- Neosha Ponder, doctoral candidate, Howard University
- David Porter, executive director, Walter Kaitz Foundation
- Thomas Reed, director, Office of Communications Business Opportunities, Federal Communications Commission
- Steven Roberts, president and CEO, The Roberts Company
- The Honorable Bobby Rush (D-IL) (honoree)
- Angela Rye, founder and president, IMPACT Strategies
- Rodney Sampson, founder and CEO, Opportunity Hub/Ventures
- Hal Singer, senior fellow, Progressive Policy Institute
- Bishop Steven Smith, executive director, Public Policy Institute, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
- Calvin Smyre, GA State Representative (honoree)
- Marie Sylla, chief legislative counsel & director, government affairs, T-Mobile
- Berin Szoka, president and CEO, TechFreedom
- Joycelyn Tate, technology policy advisor and host, Telecom Talk
- Jason Turner, vice president, Engagement, FedCap
- Nicol Turner-Lee, vice president and chief research and policy officer, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC)
- Jenell Trigg, partner, Lerman Senter
- Frank Watkins, director of policy, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
- The Honorable Frederica Wilson (D-FL) (honoree)
- Lyle “Butch” Wing, executive director, Silicon Valley Project, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
- Navarrow Wright, president and CEO, The Close the Divide Project
“We are excited to have an extraordinary line up of some of the most distinguished speakers and honorees at this year’s conference,” said Bishop Steven Smith, executive director, Public Policy Institute for Rainbow PUSH. “Every year, we attempt to answer the hard questions of how to move the needle on media and telecom and broader issues affecting our communities.”
Sponsors for this year’s Annual Symposium include AMC Networks, AT&T, Cablevision, CBS, Comcast, Grain Management, National Association of Broadcasters, Sprint, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable, US Telecom, and Verizon.
For more information on the 7th Annual Symposium or for registration, please visit www.rainbowpush.org. For other inquiries pertaining to the event or sponsorship, please contact Steven Smith, executive director at 202-393-3913.
