NAACP & SIERRA CLUB PRESIDENTS SPEAK IN PEORIA
ANNUAL ILLINOIS NAACP CONFERENCE
President & CEO Cornell Brooks of the civil rights activist group NAACP and President Aaron Mair of the environmental group Sierra Club will speak together at the Marriot Pere Marquette Ballroom, beginning at 7 pm on Friday, Oct. 30, as part of the annual Illinois NAACP conference. Together the two organizations represent nearly 1.5 million members organized within 2,500 community organizations in all fifty states.
Both President Brooks and President Mair recently participated in Justice Summer, a march from Selma, Alabama to Washington D.C in support of a focused national advocacy agenda that protects the right of every American to a fair criminal justice system, uncorrupted and unfettered access to the ballot box, sustainable jobs with a living wage, and equitable public education.
The Peoria NAACP is hosting the State Conference as part of its 100th year of existence in Peoria, where the struggle for social justice is far from over.
The two day Conference will offer 16 workshops to nearly 300 participants and at the Saturday Evening Freedom Fund Banquet feature US Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, 5th District Missouri. Congressman Cleaver is past Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and a long time advocate for equal employment opportunities for all people of color.
Social justice and environmental justice are linked in many ways. Everyone has a right to clean air and water and everyone deserves to have a chance to obtain a quality education. People of all colors and backgrounds deserve a safe community with energy efficient housing, access to good health care and a chance to earn a decent living wage. The NAACP and Sierra Club share an activist commitment to work for voter registration, advocating for clean air and clean water, promote quality job opportunities for minorities and to educate about state and federal legislation that promotes equality and sustainability.
For more information please contact David Pittman, Peoria NAACP Planning Committee at 309-573-2354, dvdpttmn@aol.com.
NAACP 2015 ANNUAL CONFERENCE, PEORIA, ILLINOIS
FRIDAY OCTOBER 30, 2015
9:00 am – 5:00 am…………………………………………………………………Registration – Ballroom
10:00 am – 6:00pm……………………………………………………………….Vendors – Ballroom Area
11:30 am – 12:00 pm…………………………………………………………….Opening
Welcome Remarks………………………………………………………………..Pere Marquette Ballroom
Mayor James Ardis, Mayor, City of Peoria
Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth
96th District Illinois
Senator David Koehler
46th District Illinois
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm……………………………………………………………..Luncheon
Mistress of Ceremony
Lauren Lofton, UAW
Invocation
Pastor Marvin Hightower
Liberty Church of Peoria
Lunch Served
Introduction of Speaker
Lauren Lofton, UAW
Solo
Pamela Davidson, UAW, Local 865
Speaker:
Mr. William McNary
Co-Director Citizen Action Illinois
Remarks
Mr. George Mitchell
Illinois State NAACP President
Benediction
Pastor Marvin Hightower
1:30 pm – 1:45 pm……………………………………………………………………………Break
1:45 pm – 3:00 pm…………………………………………………………………………..Workshops
The Middle Class: Minorities and the Union
Moderator – Sherry Allen President, AFSCME Local 3464 – Peoria, Illinois
Panelist
Mr. Tony Garcia – UAW
Roberta Lynch – Executive Director AFSCME
Pamela Davidson – UAW Local 865, Civil & Human Rights Chair
3:15 pm – 3:30 pm…………………………………………………………………………..Break
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm………………………………………………………………………….Workshops
Educational Panel
Moderator: Dr. Jeanelle Norman
1st Vice Chair State NAACP
State Education Chair
President, Decatur Branch
Recruitment of African American Faculty
Core Curriculum
Environmental Panel Discussion: “Union and Minority Job Opportunities
Moderator – George P. Mitchell, President, Illinois State Conference of Branches,
NAACP
Panelist
Senator David Koehler, Chair, Majority Party Energy & Conservation
Committee
Jacqui Patterson, National NAACP Director of Climate and Environmental
Justice
Aaron Mair, National President, Sierra Club
Tony O’Brian, Business Representative, AFL-CIO Local 649 Operating
Engineers
Rev. Tony Pierce, Chair Illinois Peoples Action
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm………………………………Dinner (On Your Own)
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm………………………………………………………………………..Mass Meeting
Music by Peoria Mass Choir
MC
Illinois State President NAACP
George P. Mitchell
Invocation
Rev. Elaine Gordon
Pastor
Ward Chapel AME Church
Welcome
Illinois State President
Mr. George Mitchell
Introduction of Speaker
Kady McFadden
National President Sierra Club
Aaron Mair
Introduction of Speaker
George P. Mitchell
Solo
Ms. Sherry Allen, AFSCME Local 3464, Peoria, IL
Speaker:
NAACP National President/CEO
Cornell William Brooks
Closing Remarks
George P. Mitchell
State President NAACP
Benediction
Rev. Elaine Gordon
Pastor Ward Chapel AME Church
Reception
Cotillion Room
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2015
Registration…………… 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
State Conference Elections…………
State Youth Workshops ………………
9:00 am – 10:00 am……………………………………………………………..Open Plenary Session
10:00 am – 10:15 am……………………………………………………………Break
10:15 am – 11:45 am……………………………………………………………Workshops
Criminal Justice
Moderator George Mitchell – President Illinois State Conference
Panelist
Representative Jehan Gordon Booth. 92nd District
Police Chief Jerry Mitchell, Peoria Police Department
Police Chief Chet Epperson, Rockford Police Department
Police Chief Gregory Baker, South Holland Police Department
Police Chief Frank Kaminski, Park Ridge Police Department
Education – Safe Schools
Moderator – Dr. Jeanelle Norman
Recruitment of African American FacultyCore
Curriculum
Discipline
Panelist
Martha Ross – President, Peoria District 150 School Board
Marcus Fogliano – Peoria Proud
Judge Jimmy M. Edwards, St. Louis, Mo.
Mr. Jerry Brady, Peoria County States Attorney
11:45 am – 12:00 pm…………………………………………………………………Break
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm ………………………………………………………………….Youth Luncheon
SPOKEN WORD
FEATURING MOEMENTUM
I:30 pm – 3:00 pm……………………………………………………………………..Workshops
How to develop the ACT-SO Program From A-Z
Moderator – Larry Brown, Jr. National NAACP Director of ACT-SO
Panelist
Carol De La Cruz – ACT-SO Director, Bloomington, IL
Varetta Yancy – NAACP President, DuPage County
Environmental Justice
Moderator – NAACP State Environmental Justice Chair……..Diane Lopez-Hughes
Panelist
Jackie Patterson – Director Environmental and Climate Justice National NAACP
Ernestine Jackson – Peoria Branch Environmental Chair Peoria NAACP
Antonio Lopez – Executive Director of Little Village Environmental Justice
Organization (LVEJO)
Naomi Davis, JD, LEED GA, – President and CEO Blacks in Green
Kim Wasserman – Director of Organizing & Strategy for LVEJO
Tamika Gibson – University of Illinois Graduate Student, former Outreach &
Policy Coordinator for Illinois Environmental Council
lll. Political Action
Moderator – Teresa Haley, Springfield Branch President, State Political Action
Chair, Former State NAACP Vice President & Health
Chair
Panelist
Tim Bride – Director, Peoria County Election Commission
Jackie Petty – Political Action Chair, Peoria Branch NAACP
Helen King – Political Action & Membership Chair, NAACP
3:00 pm – 3:15 pm………………………Break
3:15 pm – 4:45 pm
Wealth Building
Moderator – Phyllis Logan, State NAACP Economic Development Chair
State NAACP 2nd Vice President
Women & Men Health Care
Moderator – Barbara Jones, Director of Nursing Services, Mercy Circle
MSN/ED, BN, RN, RAC-CT
Chris Wade
Diversity ………….What Makes Me Unique
Moderator – Marcus Fogliano – Peoria Proud, Peoria Branch NAACP
Presenter – Liz Sherwin – Rock Island Branch NAACP
FREEDOM FUND BANQUET
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm…………………………………………………………………………………..Social Hour
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm…………………………………………………………………………………..Program
Mistress of Ceremony
Dr. Rita Ali
Vice President of Diversity, International and Adult Education
Illinois Central College
Invocation
Pastor Marvin Hightower
Liberty Church of Peoria
Welcome
George P. Mitchell
State NAACP President
Introduction of the Dias
Dr. Rita Ali
Introduction of Dignitaries
Mrs. Jackie Petty
Peoria Branch NAACP Political Action Chair
Solo
Dinner Served
Solo
Introduction of Speaker
Speaker:
S. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver
5th Congressional District
Kansas City, Missouri
Membership Appeal
Ms. Helen King
Membership Chair Peoria Branch NAACP
Remarks
Mr. Donald R. Jackson, Sr.
President Peoria Branch NAACP
Remarks
George P. Mitchell
State NAACP President
“Lift Every Voice”
(All Stand)
Benediction
Pastor Marvin Hightower
Liberty Church of Peoria
Music By
J. Petty