Courtesy Photo
Activist, comedian Dick Gregory
Courtesy Photo
A host of celebrities, elected officials, major civil rights activists and labor union leaders joined hundreds of activists from 39 states as the A. Phillip Randolph Institute (APRI) celebrated its 50th anniversary August 12 through August 16 in Savannah, Georgia at APRI’s 46th Annual National Education Conference. The conference carried the theme “Writing Our Own Narrative” and included workshops, strategic planning meetings and special events as well as a conference for youth entitled “Modern Activism.”
A special emphasis was placed on health at the conference. APRI National President Clayola Brown said, “Tragic events in Charleston, Ferguson, Texas and Cleveland have had a dramatic impact on our mental health.
While the financial health of many Black Americans continues to remain unstable despite growth in the U.S. economy. In addition focus was on the role organized labor continues to have in improving lifestyles for Black Americans with a special emphasis on retirement,” Brown added. Recent studies show that Blacks who are 65 or older are more than two and a half times as likely as whites to live in poverty.
