(HOUSTON, TX 9/16/14) — A diverse group of community activists and civil rights organizations has joined forces to organize the 2014 Civil Rights Conference. The conference, held in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act, will take place on Saturday, September 20, at the University of Houston, Science and Engineering Building, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WHAT: Houston Civil Rights Conference
WHEN: Saturday, September 20, 2014, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WHERE: University of Houston, Science and Engineering Building (SEC), 3500–3578 Cullen Blvd., Houston, TX 77004
The conference will focus on an array of issues including immigration reform, civic engagement and voting activism and will include training in community organizing, navigating the American electoral system and utilizing social media to reach voters.
“Our communities face many challenges in today’s political climate,” said Bill Crosier of the Houston Peace and Justice Center. “By organizing, we can leverage the power that our community already has to ensure that our civil rights are protected, not only for ourselves, but for future generations as well.”
Conference organizers also hope to generate a call to action after key pieces of the Voting Rights Act were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2012.
“It seems that some in this country are committed to undoing the hard-won gains of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s by arguing that the law is no longer necessary,” said Pedro Blandon of the Texas Civil Rights Project. “They claim this at the same time that young black men are being gunned down in the street and mostly Latino immigrant children and families are being imprisoned right here in Texas.”
The evening before the conference, the Houston premiere of “Neshoba: The Price of Freedom” will be held. The documentary tells the story of a Mississippi town still divided about the meaning of justice 40 years after the murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner in the summer of 1964. Director Micki Dickoff will be present at this screening, to be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 19 at the University of Houston, Science and Engineering Building (same location as the conference).
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CONTACT: David Atwood, Houston Peace and Justice Center dpatwood@igc.org (832)693-5710
Ruth Nasrullah, Council on American-Islamic Relations-TX rnasrullah@cair.com (713)585-6314
For more information visit www.houstoncrc.com.
Participating Organizations Include:
Council on American-Islamic Relations
Houston Peace and Justice Center
Texas Civil Rights Project
ACLU of Texas
Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
South Texas Center for Human Rights
Greater Houston Coalition for Justice
Black Heritage Society
Center for the Healing of Racism
SHAPE Community Center
LULAC District XVIII
End Mass Incarceration Houston
Middle East Student Association
Mi Familia Vota
Students for Justice in Palestine
Texans Together/VoteRiders
Texas Organizing Project
HouEquality
Houston Immigrant Rights Organizing Committee
KPFT Radio
UH Muslim Student Association
University of Houston
