Atlanta Satellite (Atlanta, GA)
Janice L. Mathis
Vice President
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ATLANTA SATELLITE
RAINBOW PUSH COALITION
ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2005-2006 |
Chapters – During
the past year we have maintained active established RPC chapters in Athens, Greenville, Clayton, Columbus and Charleston, while adding new chapters in Valdosta and reactivating the Louisville, Kentucky chapter.
Media
Programs – The Rainbow PUSH Coalition continues to produce Issues, a weekly magazine television talk show
on Comcast Cable Channel 25 The monthly
radio broadcast on WAOK-AM in Atlanta
has morphed into "Community Talk", a weekly hour-long public interest
broadcast, which is available on the www as well. Guests on the shows include a lively variety
of elected officials, business and community leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton, Donna Brazile, Vernon
Jones, Michael Thurmond and Evelyn Lowery. The aim of the broadcasts is to keep listeners informed on a variety of
topics of community interest including economic development, voting rights,
access to capital and more.
Trade
Bureau –
Led by Gail Davenport, the Trade Bureau resumed its monthly meeting schedule
this year. However, the “spoke “ meetings continue to grow and flourish in the areas
of professional services, automotive,
advertising and public relations and food.
Equal
Employment Opportunity – In part because of the work of the Atlanta satellite, John Deere now has its
first African American franchisee ever. We are still working with the Nationwide 7 who recently attended the
shareholder meeting and are currently in negotiations with Nationwide. The office is attempting to focus its
energies on group claims of employment discrimination based on race or gender,
including a broad-based claim with more than 100 claimants against Cooper Standard,
the auto parts manufacturer.
International Affairs – Southern Region Director Joseph
Beasley stays busy building relationships and expanding ties to
Namibia, Brazil, Haiti, Zambia and other ports-of-call for
Africans in diaspora. He also speaks out forcefully for
the homeless and other disadvantaged groups.
Keep
the Vote Alive! – RPC organized more than 25,000 volunteers and members to celebrate
the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, while protesting
efforts to block its reauthorization. As
a result, the administration was forced to declare its support for the
VRA. RPC also spoke out against the Georgia voter id law, the nation’s most restrictive. Keep the Vote Alive represented
the largest civil rights demonstration in Atlanta
history and a robust coalition of labor, clergy, civil and human rights
organizations.
MLK
Holiday – On May 25, 2006, after a three year struggle, the Greenville
chapter of Rainbow PUSH held a formal gala at Bethlehem Baptist Church’s
state-of0-the-art family life center. Entertainment was provided by Sinbad, and Rev. Jackson gave the keynote
address for the chapter’s first annual Keep Hope Alive Gala. More than 500 were in attendance. The chapter is also working with the local
housing authority and HUD to assure that Hope VI renovations do not result in
massive evictions of low income tenants.
Shareholder Activism - During Spring, 2006, RPC
advocated for inclusion in hiring and contracting at the annual shareholder
meetings of AOL-Time Warner, Newell Rubbermaid, BellSouth and Nationwide. |
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