wfn.org | 01/28 News Conf., Historic Meeting of African American Baptists

["Carol Fouke" <cfouke@ncccusa.org>]

MEDIA ADVISORY - For Immediate Release

01/28 News Conf., Historic Meeting of African American Baptists 	

Friday, January 28, 2005, 9:00 a.m., Nashville, Tenn.
Venue: Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center

HISTORIC JOINT MEETING OF
THE FOUR AFRICAN AMERICAN BAPTIST CONVENTIONS UPDATE

What: The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC), National
Baptist Convention USA, Inc. (NBCUSA), The National Baptist Convention of
America, Inc. (NBCA), and National Missionary Baptist Convention of America,
Inc. (NMBCA) are gathering in Nashville Jan. 24-28 to work on a myriad of
issues relevant to the African American community.  The leadership of these
conventions represents over 15 million African Americans.  

As a response to the dream of Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, former president of
PNBC, three African American Baptist Convention presidents, Dr. C. Mackey
Daniels of PNBC, Dr. E. Edward Jones of NBCA, and Dr. William J. Shaw of
NBCUSA, met six years ago to discuss the possibility of this joint meeting. 
A year ago, the present presidents of the four African American Baptist
Conventions, Dr. Major L. Jemison, President of PNBC; Dr. William J. Shaw,
President of NBCUSA; Dr. Stephen J. Thurston, President of NBCA; and Dr.
Melvin V. Wade, President of NMBCA, met to organize this historic meeting of
African American Baptists.
									     
  
Who: Featured preachers include Dr. Major L. Jemison, President of the
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.; Dr. William J. Shaw, President
of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.; Dr. Stephen J. Thurston,
President of The National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; and Dr. Melvin
V. Wade, President of the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America,
Inc., and featured speakers for the forums include Dr. John Kinney, Dean of
the Samuel T. DeWitt Proctor School of Religion at Virginia Union University;
Dr. Clarence Newsome, President of Shaw University; Dr. Forrest Elliott
Harris, Sr., President of American Baptist College; Dr. Marion Wright
Edelman, Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund; Dr. Stephanie
White Perry, Asst. Commissioner, Department of Health, State of Tennessee;
Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, President of the Hampton Ministers' Conference; and
Dr. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., President and CEO of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. 

THEME: "BUILDING BETTER BRIDGES FOR MINISTRY"

When: The Joint Meeting will take place January 24-28, 2005, and the PRESS
CONFERENCE is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on January 28th with Dr. Major L.
Jemison, President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
presiding.   
	       
Where: Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, 2800 Opryland Drive,
Nashville, Tennessee 37214
       General Information: 615-889-1000; Website: www.gaylordhotels.com 

(Note: The Friday, January 28th Press Conference at 9:00 a.m. will be held in
the Delta Island E Room)

Why: The four African American Baptist Conventions are coming together to
celebrate, worship, and work to set an agenda for African American Baptists. 
Central to this Joint Meeting are the forums.  These forums will provide an
opportunity for those present to participate in collective dialogue about the
issues that are important to the survival of the African American community. 
Topics include African American Education and Holistic Health, African
American Economic Development and Its Effect Upon Political Empowerment, and
African American Spirituality and Its Effect Upon Social Justice and Global
Issues.  The goal of these forums is to provide a framework for the four
conventions to work over the next five years to address the needs of the
African American community.  These forums grew out of a joint committee of
the four conventions chaired by Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Chairperson of the
Progressive National Convention's Civil Rights Commission and Pastor of the
Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

Media Contact: For more information and to schedule mini-interviews, contact
Deborah Pankey-Mebane at 301-477-4188 (office)/410-206-8082 (cell) or Dr.
Allen Hand, at 718-495-6772 (office)/917-535-3609 (cell).

-end-

Release sent by the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., for the
Four Conventions
601 50th St. N.E.
Washington, DC 20019
202-396-0558