Ga. black elected officials to confer in Washington on 'stopping the violence'

The Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO) is holding its 38th Annual Winter Conference, Board Meeting and Community Retreat here this weekend.

With a theme of "Stopping the Violence, Saving our Children, Seeking Solutions to End this Epidemic." Mayor Willie Burns will host the conference, which starts Friday at the Pope Conference Center. "We're expecting more than a hundred officials to come," he said, "but many will be attending the funeral of civil rights pioneer Rev. James Edward Orange in Atlanta Saturday morning."

Saturday's keynote speaker is Brenda Muhammad, a member of the Atlanta Board of Education, and Founder and President of Mothers of Murdered Sons and Daughters, and Director of the Atlanta Victim Assistance Program.

The morning's speakers include Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard; DeKalb County District Attorney Gwen Keys Fleming; Clayton County District Attorney Jewell Scott; Augusta/Richmond County Solicitor General Harold Jones; Alice Johnson, Director, Georgians for Gun Safety.

At 12:30, the group will hold a luncheon. The program includes federal, state, and local political candidates and greetings from Mayor Burns; Georgia Commissioner of Labor Michael Thurmond; Rep. Calvin Smyre, President, National Black Caucus of State Legislators; Atlanta City Councilman Felecia Moore, Past President, National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials; Rep. Al Williams, Chair, Georgia Legislative Black Caucus; Rita Samuels, Founder, Georgia Coalition of Black Women; Helen Butler, Executive Director, Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda; Janice Mathis, Vice President, Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition; Ed DuBose, President, Georgia State Conference NAACP; and Rev. Samuel F. Mosteller, President, Georgia SCLC.

The group will tour Washington in the afternoon, including the place where Rep. Tyrone Brooks, the group's president, nearly died within 24 hours of his birth.

The evening will end with entertainment at The Pope Center.

On Sunday morning, the association will hold its Closing Conference Worship Service at Springfield Baptist Church, with Rev. Norman Williams presiding. The conference will close at 3 p.m.

Reader Comments

No comments have been posted. Be the first!

Other Stories With Comments:
Article	Comments
The Office Cat	1
Family escapes death in semi hit-and-run	1
Feed a family of four for $10 a week	1