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OBAP announces 37th convention; Soledad O’Brien joins Al Jazeera America; ‘Think China 2013’ launches

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U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandra Stevens Jackson. (23382)
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandra Stevens Jackson.
Anika Noni Rose (23380)

Alabama

Upon the 50th anniversary of pivotal events in the Civil Rights Movement, Hallmark Channel presents “The Watsons Go to Birmingham,” Friday, Sept. 20 (8 p.m. ET/PT, 7C). The film, which is an adaptation of Christopher Paul Curtis’ 1996 Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor Award winning book by the same name, follows an all-American family on their road trip from Flint, Mich., to Birmingham, Ala., in 1963, and their historic summer experiences give them a newfound courage to stand up for what is right and helps them grow stronger as a family in the process. Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee Anika Noni Rose stars, along with three-time Tony nominee and Grammy nominee David Alan Grier.

California

Thirteen African American high school students from the San Francisco Bay Area will travel to China later this month to participate in the China-U.S. Study Exchange Foundation program. The students are delegates to “Think China 2013,” and they are first group of students from Northern California to participate in the education exchange. The students, most of whom attend high schools in Alameda County, which includes the city of Oakland, will travel to Beijing and Shanghai from July 13 through July 27. Their visit is divided into five categories. They are academic, civic engagement, cultural immersion, business and industry tours and a community-service project.

District of Columbia

On Monday, July 15, the Black American Leadership Alliance (BALA) will host a march and rally with speakers, including U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, former Rep. Col. Allen West, Rep. Steve King and others. March and rally participants at the D.C. March for Jobs will gather at Freedom Plaza at 9:30 a.m., and march to Upper Senate Park to oppose all forms of amnesty and protect American jobs for American workers. BALA leaders and rally participants will petition Congress, the Gang of Eight and the Congressional Black Caucus to demand that they protect Black labor by opposing amnesty and halting efforts to double legal immigration levels as required under the recently passed Senate immigration bill. According to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, illegal immigration has kept wages and employment down over recent decades, particularly among Black men. “Now is not the time for Congress to increase competition for scarce jobs by adding millions more workers through legalization,” said Frank Morris, Alliance president, and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Florida

The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals Inc. (OBAP) will hold its 37th annual Convention and Career Fair Exposition July 30-Aug. 2 at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami. Registration can be done online at www.obap.org. Volunteers are needed and a volunteer registration form is also online. Highlights of the convention include a career fair, workshops, and an awards gala. For more information about the convention, contact OBAP’s national office at (800) JET-OBAP or nationaloffice@obap.org.

The Minority Chamber of Commerce will host its premiere EB-5 (employment based program: fifth preference) investment conference on Aug. 2 at the Double Tree Airport Hotel in Miami. Immigration and investment experts as well as senior public officials will join to discuss how the Green Card program can unlock foreign capital and incentivize investment through the Federal EB-5 Program. The conference will provide the latest market, legal, and economic information and updates to project developers, regional center executives, immigration, and legal professionals within the EB-5 industry. Given the current condition of the credit market, EB-5 may be the answer for businesses without traditional capital options. For more information or to register, visit the Minority Chamber of Commerce website at www.conferencesinvestor.org.

Georgia

Clark Atlanta University 2013 MBA graduates Christopher Gladney and Jarvis Robertson recently won the prestigious Innovation Challenge and a $5,000 cash prize, sponsored by Skild, a privately held company that helps companies and organizations design and manage online contests. The Innovation Challenge is the world’s largest and most established online innovation competition. For more than 10 years, the brightest and most creative people throughout the world have been matched with leading companies in an experience designed to address the companies most pressing business and social innovation challenges. Gladney and Robertson were charged with developing a strategic marketing campaign to shape the future of Seagram’s national brand. They produced an integrated campaign that encompassed both traditional and non-traditional marketing tactics to increase Seagram’s market share and optimize return on investment. The two graduates are working with company executives to execute the plan.

Twin brothers John and Eugene Meek. (23381)

Illinois

Twenty-five-year-old twin brothers John and Eugene Meek from Chicago, were recently found dead from an apparent drug overdose. Their bodies were found with spoons and needles nearby. A friend went by to check on the pair after they were missing for nearly three days, and found them in their home both unresponsive. He called police, and shortly after, the two were pronounced dead. According to the family, the two brothers “did everything together,” and sadly they have also died together as a result of drug abuse.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandra Stevens Jackson. (23382)

The sentencing of former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandra Stevens Jackson, has been rescheduled for next month. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson will sentence the couple in separate hearings beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 14. Prosecutors recommended that Judge Jackson sentence Jesse Jackson Jr. to 48 months in prison and Sandra Jackson to 18 months. Jesse Jackson Jr., who represented the state’s 2nd Congressional District, pled guilty in February to conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and making false statements. He admitted to conspiring to defraud his re-election campaign of about $750,000. He is the son of civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. Sandra Jackson, 49, pled guilty to filing false federal income tax returns. She is a former Chicago alderman.

Soledad O’Brien (23383)

New York

Emmy Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, who recently left the CNN morning show “Starting Point,” has confirmed that she has now signed on as a news correspondent for Al Jazeera America. She will work for their new show called “America Tonight,” and will also produce hour-long documentary specials for the network. In a statement released by her publicist, O’Brien said she is looking forward to “beginning a relationship with Al Jazeera America, which has made a commitment to producing quality programming and pursuing underreported stories.”

National

Orr Immigration Law Firm PC founder Allen Orr Jr. has been named to the International Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers 2013 by Who’s Who Legal. Orr is one of 476 lawyers in 31 jurisdictions who can be considered leaders in their field. The Who’s Who list is the fruit of months of research, generated by canvassing and analyzing the opinions of clients and lawyers from around the world. Nominees are selected based upon independent surveys of prominent general counsel and private practice lawyers. Only specialists who have met independent international criteria are listed. Orr Immigration Law Firm PC, is a minority-owned firm based in Washington, D.C., and focuses on U.S. corporate compliance as well as global representation and assistance on immigration issues.

Compiled by Juliana Norwood.

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