Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund kicked off its 18th Annual Creating Opportunity Conference with the Powerful Women in Leadership Breakfast on Friday, October 13, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta. Denise Cleveland Leggett, region IV administrator, US Department of Housing and Urban Development and Standard Bearer for Public Stewardship Award recipient; Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, president and dean, Morehouse School of Medicine and Trailblazer for Health Equity Award recipient; Keyra Lynne Johnson, managing director of Global Diversity and Inclusion for Delta Airlines and Corporate Advocate for Inclusion Award recipient; Ryshonda Harper-Beecham, mayor, Pelahatchie, Mississippi and Pioneer in Public Service Award recipient; and Lynneice Oliver-Washington, district attorney, 10th Judicial Court, Bessemer, Alabama division and Crusader for Justice Award recipient were honored for their leadership role as change agents in the movement of Civil Rights.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, says “In the [civil rights] phase of segregation, if you were a Black woman or man, you couldn’t even vote. The role of women has become more prominent. We need you. We need your leadership. A woman just ran for president and won. Hillary Clinton was robbed. If you win by 3M you won. Repeat after me, ‘by winning 3M votes, I am a winner.'”
Jackson introduced Emory University anthropologist Isabella Alexander, a documentarian who was detained this summer in Algeria and facing a five year sentence for allegations of foreign espionage. “… in other words, we don’t want this story to get out. I ended up spending 12 days in detention. I learned that it was because of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s work and belief in these stories that I was able to get out of there quickly and safely,” Alexander tells the shocked crowd about her experience. Her film documents the struggles of sub-Saharan migrants and refugees in North Africa.
Rev. CT Vivian received a special recognition for his endless contributions to the movement.
