|
APRI -
San
Francisco
Awarded
“Chapter
of the
Year” at
A.
Phillip
Randolph
Institute
National
Conference
WASHINGTON
D.C.
(Tell Us
SFO) -
On
August
4th
2012,
APRI
Chapters,
union
leaders
and
civil
rights
activists
from all
over the
country
joined
in
Washington
D.C. to
prepare
for a
strong
push in
the
upcoming
elections
this
fall.
APRI San
Francisco
won the
“Chapter
of the
Year”
honors
at the
organization’s
43rd
Annual
National
Conference.
The
award
highlights
the
chapter
with the
most
impressive
accomplishments
within
the past
year.
In
addition
to this
monumental
occasion,
the APRI
Youth
Leadership
Conference
was held
simultaneously.
This
portion
of the
conference
focused
on
educating
and
uniting
young
people
to
prepare
them to
become
leaders
in their
respective
schools
and
communities.
APRI San
Francisco
sent the
most
youth to
attend
the
conference
workshops.
Our
chapter
was able
to
sponsor
8 youths
and 2
youth
leaders,
ranging
from
16-24
years
old. For
many of
the
participants,
it was
their
first
experiences
outside
of
California.
“It was
really
great to
see our
nation’s
capital,
especially
the
White
House
and the
Martin
Luther
King,
Jr.
Memorial,”
said
Andrezonae
Johnson,
who was
one of
our
standout
youth
participants.
Youth Leader,
Tim Henderson introduces the APRI San Francisco Chapter
during the morning session workshops. (Photo by Solomon
So/Tell Us SFO)
With
voter ID
laws
being
criticized
for
suppressing
minority
voter’s
rights,
the
conference
activities
consisted
of
various
panels
and
workshops
that
focused
on voter
engagement
and the
importance
of
getting
minorities
and
young
people
to the
polls.
Guest
speakers
were
invited
to
inspire
the
attendees,
including
the
likes of
Danny
Glover
(Film
Director),
Al
Sharpton
(Founder,
National
Action
Network)
and
Norman
Hill
(President,
Emeritus).
White
House
employees
were
also
invited
to have
a say.
Jay
Williams,
Deputy
Director
of the
White
House
Office
of
Intergovernmental
Affairs
contributed
to the
promotion
of
voting
and
being
aware of
politics.
Reverend
Al
Sharpton
delivered
a
tremendous
speech
that
brought
more
than 500
participants
to a
standing
ovation.
He urged
the
audience;
“…to
realize
who we
are. We
were not
invited
downtown.
We were
not
invited
to this
hotel.
The
price
was paid
to bring
us here!
Act like
A.
Philip
Randolph’s
Children!” |
