Plenaries

Thursday, March 6
Opening Plenary
8:30-10:15am

Welcome and Opening Remarks
Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PolicyLink

Building Bridges for Infrastructure Equity
Infrastructure isn’t a word that grabs public attention, but it’s the structural backbone of our communities. Bridges, tunnels, sewer and water systems, transportation systems, parks, and schools must be built, maintained, and repaired, and equity advocates must play a role in the debate about when, where, and who will pay. Angela Glover Blackwell will frame the issue, drawing from the devastating failure of infrastructure policy in New Orleans, Minneapolis, and other regions. Leaders who are grappling with the realities of aging or inadequate infrastructure will round out this plenary and present equity principles to help guide the decisions that will affect communities of tomorrow.
Moderator: Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PolicyLink
Panelists:
The Honorable Ronald C. Sims, Executive, King County, Washington
The Honorable Victor Lopez, Mayor, City of Orange Cove, California
Richard D. Baron, Co-founder, McCormack, Baron, and Salazaar

Thursday, March 6
Luncheon Plenary
12:15-2:00pm

Trouble the Water: Documentary Clip and Conversation with the Filmmakers
Trouble the Water, Winner of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize: Aspiring rap artist Kim and her streetwise husband Scott show what survival is all about when they are trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters, and then seize a chance for a new beginning. Directed and produced by Fahrenheit 911 producers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal and executive producers Danny Glover and Joslyn Barnes, Trouble the Water features an original musical score by Neil Davidge and Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack, and the music of Dr. John, Mary Mary, Citizen Cope, John Lee Hooker, and the Free Agents Brass Band, and introducing the music of Black Kold Madina.

Join the filmmakers for clips and plenary discussion of the yet-to-be-released film, Trouble the Water, a dramatic look into the real stories of New Orleans residents who battled Hurricane Katrina's deadly floodwaters, journeyed across post-disaster stumbling blocks, and seized a chance for a new beginning.
Moderator: Judith Bell, President, PolicyLink
Panelists:
Carl Deal, Director and Producer, Trouble the Water
Danny Glover, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Louverture Films, and Executive Producer, Trouble the Water
Tia Lesson, Director and Producer, Trouble the Water
Kimberly Roberts, Contributer, Trouble the Water
Scott Roberts, Contributer, Trouble the Water
 

Thursday, March 6
Evening Reception
7:00-8:30pm

Official City Welcome
The Inaugural Carl Anthony Regional Equity Award presented to Mr. Carl Anthony

Remarks by Angela Glover Blackwell and a Live performance by The Jamil Sharif Quintet featuring Lady B.J. (Crosby) and Wanda Rouzan.

The first Carl Anthony Award for Regional Equity will be presented to Carl Anthony, a tireless advocate for sustainable, equitable communities.  Anthony, a senior Ford Foundation fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, Department of Geography, formerly served as acting director of the Ford Foundation Community and Resource Development Unit.  Prior to his time at The Ford Foundation, Anthony was an outstanding and passionate advocate for urban social justice and environmental change in the San Francisco Bay Area, chairing the Berkeley Planning Commission, and founding and leading the Urban Habitat Group.  A trained architect and town planner, Anthony began his career in the mid-1960s in Harlem at Architect's Renewal Committee, the first community design center in the nation. Anthony is working on a new book, The Earth, The City, and The Hidden Narrative of Race, examining the connections between the fields of environmental justice, community development, and the changing face of globalization.

Friday, March 7
Morning Plenary
10:45am-12:00pm

Election 2008: Keeping Race, Poverty, and Equity on the Political Agenda 
The 2008 election season is in full swing. But where are race, poverty, and equity in the discourse? This plenary will not address the specific platforms of presidential or other office candidates. Instead, panelists will explore the critical issues that ought to be front and center in 2008 and describe how they are working to ensure those issues are on the national agenda.
Moderator: Tavis Smiley, Host, The Tavis Smiley Show 
Panelists:
Maria Echeveste, President, Nueva Vista Group LLC; Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Patrick Gaspard, Executive Vice President for Politics and Legislation, 1199 Service Employees International Union
Antonio Gonzalez, President, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project; President, the Williams C. Velasquez Institute
Robert K. Ross, President and Chief Executive Officer, The California Endowment
Jim Wallis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sojourners

Friday, March 7
Closing Town Hall
2:30-4:00pm

Closing Town Hall: Claiming the Big Idea 
Equity advocates are on the cusp of a significant advance in framing problems and approaching solutions to improve the lives of low-income families and communities of color. Have we hit on the “big idea” that will take the burgeoning equity movement to a new level? This town hall concludes the summit with an exploration of lessons learned throughout the event and questions still unanswered.  We’ll explore the role of PolicyLink and other organizations in supporting the movement to reach its highest goals.

Moderators:  Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PolicyLink;  and Dwayne S. Marsh, Associate Director, PolicyLink.
Panelists:
Nancy Aardema, Executive Director, Logan Square Neighborhood Association
Martha Guzman, Legislative Advocate, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Martha Matsuoka, Assistant Professor, Urban and Environmental Policy Institute, Occidental College
Nathaniel Smith, Director, Partnerships and Research for Equitable Development, Office of University-Community Partnerships, Emory University
Michele Thomas, Community Organizer, Tenants Union of Washington State
Doua Thor, Executive Director, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Rev. Dwight Webster, Pastor, Christian Unity Baptist Church, New Orleans

Live performances by: the Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians, the James Andrews Band, featuring Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, and the Original New Orleans Men Buck Jumpers Social Aid & Pleasure Club.