Watch roundtable discussion in New Haven on Jordan Davis verdict

Register Community Engagement Editor Shahid Abdul-Karim, New Haven attorney Michael Jefferson, Community Action Agency CEO and President Amos Smith, Greater New Haven Branch NAACP Legal Redress Committee Chairman Caleb Pilgrim, who is an attorney; and the Rev. William Mathis, program manager for the city’s Project Longevity and a former assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore, participated in  a live roundtable conversation regarding the verdict in the death of Jordan Davis, 17.

You can watch the video here, in two parts:

State Conference of NAACP Branches to recognize 100 African American Connecticut leaders

 

 

In a release, the State Conference of NAACP Branches said it would will recognize 100 African American state leaders at its State Convention .

 The “100 Most Influential Blacks in CT Luncheon” will be held at noon on Saturday Dec. 21 at the Omni Hotel, 155 Temple Street, New Haven. Derrick Johnson, President of the Mississippi NAACP State Conference, will provide the keynote address, the release said.

 

“We are thrilled to honor African American men and women in Connecticut who are making a difference in our communities,” State President Scot X. Esdaile said, also in the release. “From education to entertainment, law enforcement to legislators, this represents some of the best and brightest who are leading the charge for change in the state.”

 The luncheon will be the main event of the State Convention, which begins on Dec. 20 with a free Urban Business Expo from 6 to 9 p.m. The expo will be followed by a holiday party co-hosted by Yale radio station WYBC.

 

The list of 100 leaders is below. For information on booth space availability at the expo or the luncheon, call 860-523-9962.

 

CT NAACP 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL BLACKS IN CONNECTICUT

 

1.      Yolanda Allen, Editor-in-Chief, Northend Agent’s

2.      Carole Andrews, Chief Administrative Officer, UConn Health Center

3.      June Archer, Author, Promoter, Youth Activist

4.      Dr. Felton O. Best, Director, African Americn Studies, CCSU

5.      Michael Bivins, Recording Artist, New Edition

6.      Rodrick L. Bremby, Commissioner, DSS

7.      Dr. Kalilah Brown-Dean Professor, Quinnipiac University

8.      DJ Buck, Program Director, Hot 93.7, WZMX

9.      Rep. Larry Butler, Waterbury

10.  Cassie, Recording Artist, Model, Actress

11.  Deborah A. Caviness, Sr.  Director of Small and Minority Business Development, Bridgeport

12.  Rep. Charles “Don” Clemons, Jr., State Representative, Bridgeport

13.  Dr. Stacey Close, Vice-President, Eastern Conn. State University

14.  Adam Cloud, Hartford City Treasurer

15.  Sanford Cloud Jr., Former Connecticut State Senator, Chairman and CEO, The Cloud Company

16.  Adrienne W. Cochrane, J.D., President & CEO, Greater Hartford Urban League

17.  Rodney Cohen, Assistant Dean, Yale University

18.  Sen. Eric D. Coleman, Hartford

19.  Andrea Comer, Member, State Board of Education

20.  Dr. James P. Comer, Founder, Comer School Development Program

21.  Rajai Davis, Major League Professional Baseball Player - Detroit Tigers

22.  Barbara DeBaptiste, National Director of 100 Black Women

23.  Malcolm Ellis, Executive at The Diageo Company

24.  Deborah A. Elam, President and Chief Diversity Officer, GE Foundation

25.  Metashar Bankhead Dillon, Author, Motivational Speaker and Entrepreneur

26.  Wesley Dillon, International Engineer, Job Development-Management for Pratt & Whitney

27.  Karen Dubois-Walton Ph.D., Executive Director, New Haven Housing Authority

28.  Gwen Edwards, News Reporter, Chanel 12 Fairfield County

29.  Dr. Jane McBride Gates – 1st African American Provost & V.P. of Academic Affairs at Western Connecticut State University

30.  James H. Gatling, Ph.D., President & CEO, New Opportunities, Inc.

31.  Keisha Grant, Co-Anchor, NBC CT News

32.  Floyd Green, Senior Vice President, Aetna

33.  Samuel C. Hamilton, Former International Grand Polemarch for Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Executive Director, HEDCO

34.  Gail P. Hardy, State’s Attorney for Judicial District of Hartford

35.  Sen. Toni N. Harp, Mayor-Elect, New Haven

36.  George Hanna, PSD, Supreme Warden/Senior Vice President, Fraternal Service, Knights of Columbus

37.  Rep. Ernest Hewett, New London

38.  Howard K. Hill, Funeral Services New Haven & Hartford

39.  Cheryl A. Hickmon, National Secretary, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

40.  Ronnell Higgins, Yale University Police Chief

41.  Carlton L. Highsmith, Specialized Packaging, Hamden

42.  Rep. Gary A. Holder-Winfield, New Haven

43.  Theresa Hopkins-Staten, Director, State Regulatory Affairs Connecticut at Northeast Utilities Service Company

44.  Chandler J. Howard, President & CEO, Liberty Mutual Bank

45.  Tanya Hughes, Acting Executive Director, Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities

46.  Mayor Scott Jackson, Hamden

47.  Rev Tommie Jackson, Director of Urban Redevelopment and Mmember, Connecticut Ethics Board

48.  Kevin Johnson, CT State President of the Elks

49.  Jacqueline James, 1^st African American Chairwoman of the City of New Haven Democratic Town Committee

50.  Juanita James, President, Fairfield County Community Foundation

51.  Atty. Michael A. Jefferson, National Supreme Council of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity

52.  Dr. Dorsey L. Kendrick, President, Gateway Community College

53.  Lisa Nkonoki - National Family Advocate

54.  Keith Kountz, News Anchor, WTNH News Channel 8

55.  Clara C. Lee, President, The Links, Connecticut

56.  Warde Manuel, Athletic Director, UCONN

57.  Deborah McAuley, Director for Diversity, Yale University

58.  Don McAuley, New England Regional Director, In-Roads

59.  Paul A. McCraven, Senior Vice President, First Niagara Bank 

60.  Rep. Douglas McCrory, Hartford

61.  Tyrone McClain, District Chief of Staff, Congressman Jim Himes

62.  Rep. Brandon Mcgee Jr., Hartford

63.  Rep. Patricia Billie Miller, Stamford

64.  Rep. Bruce Morris, Norwalk

65.  Dr. Jewel Mullen, Commissioner, CT Department of Public Health

66.  Denise Nappier, State Treasurer

67.  Kevin Ollie, Head Coach Men's Basketball, UCONN

68.  Dr. Steve Perry, Founder and Principal, Capital Prep Magnet School, Author

69.  Rev. Dr. Robert Perry, Pastor, Union Baptist Church

70.  Rodney O. Powell, President & COO, Yankee Gas

71.  Salome Raheim, Ph.D., Dean, UConn School of Social Work

72.  Patrick Ridenhour, Police Chief, Stratford

73.  Vernon Riddick, Police Chief, Waterbury  

74.  Doreen Richardson, Former Chairwoman, Windsor Board of Education

75.  Daryl K. Roberts, President, NOBLE CT  

76.  Charles Robinson, CT Grand Master, Prince Hall Masons

77.  Curtis Robinson, President & CEO, C& R Development Co.

78.  Judge Richard Robinson, CT Appellate Court – Recent Nominee for State Supreme Court

79.  Valarie Shultz-Wilson, President & CEO, Urban League of Southern CT

80.  Cheryl Sharp, Litigation Attorney, Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities

81.  Michael Sharpe, President & CEO Family Urban Schools of Excellence-Jumoke Academy Schools

82.  Rep. Charlie L. Stallworth, Bridgeport

83.  Joseph M. Suggs, Jr., Former State Treasurer, Former Mayor, Bloomfield

84.  John P. Thomas – President, Inner City Newspaper

85.  Dr. James Thompson, Jr., Superintendent, Bloomfield Public Schools

86.  Charles Tisdale, Executive Director, ABCD in Bridgeport

87.  Reggie Tolliver, Director Community Affairs, Turner Construction Company

88.  Pamela Trotman Reid, Ph.D., President, Saint Joseph College

89.  Marilyn Tucker, Connecticut Grand Worthy Matron, Eastern Stars

90.  Rep. Toni Edmonds Walker, New Haven 

91.  Fitz G. Walker Jr., President & CEO, Barton Medical Imaging

92.  Elease White, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Aetna

93.  Dr. Sharon J. White, Director, UConn Stamford Campus

94.  Dudley Williams, Director of Corporate Citizenship and Diversity, GE Asset Management

95.  Deborah Williams, Ph.D., Entrepreneur, NBA Apparel

96.  Isabel Windley, President, Daughter of the Elks, CT

97.  Shawn Wooden, Partner, Day Pitney, LLC, President, Hartford City Council

98.  Patrice Wrice, Executive Director, Operation Fuel, Inc.

99.  Joe Young, Author, Filmmaker, Community Activist

100. Teresa C. Younger, Executive Director, Permanent Commission on Women

NAACP Great Debate III will be held at Yale

The State Conference NAACP will hold the 3rd Annual Great Debate featuring Yale University and Howard University Debate Teams at 7 p.m. April 9 at Yale’s Woolsey Hall, 500 College St.

The Great Debate III will be moderated Connecticut native and Howard University Alumni attorney John C. Brittain, shown in photo, according to a statement.
"The debate follows in the steps of the film 'The Great Debaters,' which was released in 2007 and directed by Denzel Washington," the statement said. "The film told the story of an all African-American debating team from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas that rose to national prominence in the 1930s and defeated a powerhouse Ivy League debate team."

“The movie inspired students everywhere to embrace the power of thoughtful, focused dialogue,” NAACP President Scot X. Esdaile said in the statement. “With this annual event, we hope to keep that enthusiasm alive, and to provide a forum for young voices to be heard.”

General admission for the event is $20; VIP admission, which includes a pre-event reception, is $50.
All tickets purchased will include a free NAACP youth membership and tickets are being handled through the Shubert Theater box office (203) 5666 or http://www.shubert.com/.
For patrons wanting to stay overnight, rooms can be secured at the Marriot at Yale for $119, the statement said. Reference the Great Debate. (1-800-Marriot)

Other 2011 Great Debate weekend activities:

April 9: There will be an early evening welcome reception for the debate teams from the two universities and Howard University Alumni Club of Greater New Haven will act as co-host for a pre-debate alumni happy hour from 6 to 9 p.m. at Geronimo’s, 271 Crown St. On Saturday, the debate will be followed by a post debate party at Kelly's Restaurant, 196 Crown St.

Two great debates coming up in city

Universities square off at NAACP event

HARTFORD — The State Conference of the NAACP will hold the 2nd Annual Great Debate, featuring Yale, Howard, Hampton and Columbia universities’ debate teams at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 3at Yale’s Woolsey Hall, 500 College St.
The event will be moderated by actor Nate Parker, who starred in “The Great Debaters,” released in 2007 and directed by Denzel Washington. The film tells the story of an all-black debating team from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, that rose to national prominence in the 1930s and defeated a powerhouse Ivy League debate team.
“The movie inspired students everywhere to embrace the power of thoughtful, focused dialogue,” NAACP President Scot X. Esdaile said. “With this annual event, we hope to keep that enthusiasm alive, and to provide a forum for young voices to be heard.”
General admission is $20; VIP admission, which includes a pre-event reception, is $50. All tickets purchased include a free NAACP youth membership.

PETA leader to debate Yalies on meat-eating

NEW HAVEN — Whether or not it is ethical to eat meat will be the topic of a debate Wednesday night between the vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Yale Debate Association.
Bruce Friedrich will take on the Yalies to make the case that eating meat results in abuse to animals, devastation to the environment and poor health.
Friedrich has debated against use of fur and meat and experimenting on animals for years, and appeared on the Showtime reality series, “American Candidate.”
The Yale Debate Association has won the American Parliamentary Debate Association’s Team of the Year award four times, the national championship four times, the North American championship three times and, in 2006, was the first U.S. team to reach the final round of the modern World Championships.
The free event will be held at 7 p.m. at Linsly-Chittenden Hall, 63 High St., Room 102. The host is peta2, PETA’s youth division.

Greater New Haven NAACP to hold prayer service

NEW HAVEN - The Greater New Haven Branch of the NAACP and its Religious Affairs Committee will hold a prayer service for healing and rebirth and sponsor a collection of non-perishable items for shipment to Haiti from 6:30 to 8 p.m. March 5 at Varick AME Zion Church, 242 Dixwell Ave.
Amonbg items sought are first aid kits, antibiotics, clothing and footwear for adults
and children, comb and brush sets, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste,
shampoo, towels, wash cloths, deodorant, lotion, blankets,
sheets, food and water.
Music and refreshments will be provided.