FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 12, 2007

 

Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment (ABLE) to sponsor Education Forum on January 20, 10:00 am, First Iconium Baptist Church

 

Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment (ABLE) begins a series of forums on issues affecting the Atlanta Metro Area on January 20, 10:00 am at First Iconium Baptist Church, 542 Moreland Avenue, Atlanta, 30316.  The first forum will be on Education Issues and will be hosted by the Organization of DeKalb Educators (ODE).  “The issue forums are a direct outgrowth of the Metro Equity Summit ABLE sponsored at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in September and the Faith and Equity in Action gathering at First Iconium Baptist Church in November,” said Rev. Anthony Motley, Lindsey Street Baptist Church, President of ABLE.  “We are deeply concerned about equity and fairness in the region in the areas of housing, transportation, health care, land use, education, immigration, the beltline proposals and the deep economic gap that exists.”

 

Dr. Merchuria “Chase” Williams, immediate past President of the Georgia Association of Educators, will be the featured speaker.  Other speakers will present information on No Child Left Behind, 65% Rule, Closing the Achievement Gap, Meeting the Needs of Special Needs Students and English Language Learners and other important areas.  Participants will then meet in interest groups to develop a plan for ABLE to address these needs with elected officials at the state and local level.

 

ABLE is an affiliate of the Gamaliel Foundation, which is an international organizing institute working with over sixty communities in the United States, South Africa and Kenya.  It is a network of organizers, clergy, and lay leaders working with the task of creating more powerful grassroots organizations to work for justice.

 

ABLE is a multi-denominational and multi-racial organization with over 20 member churches and organizations in the Atlanta Metro Area. ABLE DeKalb County Vice-President David Schutten of the Organization of DeKalb Educators said, “ABLE has a long history in DeKalb and Atlanta. We are now reaching out to churches and organizations across the metro area, and recruiting beyond Atlanta and DeKalb.”  DeKalb churches that are members of ABLE include First African, Presbyterian Church, Lithonia, St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church, Dunwoody, Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, Decatur, and Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church Atlanta, in addition to ODE, the Atlanta Labor Council, the Regional Council of Churches of  Atlanta, and Concerned Black Clergy.

 

The ABLE leaders' meeting will be held at First Iconium Baptist Church, Tuesday, January 23.  “We want to invite congregations interested in learning more about ABLE to send representatives,” said ABLE Recruitment Chair, Mrs. Barbara Burnham, of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta.

 

Upcoming forums include:

 

Transportation and the Beltline, January 25, 7:30 pm, Lindsey Street Baptist Church, 550 Lindsey Street NW, Atlanta 30314

Health Care, January 27, 10:00 am, First Iconium Baptist Church

Economic Gap and Housing Affordability, January 30, 7:30 pm, IBEW Auditorium, 55 Pulliam Street, Atlanta, 30312

Immigration, February 10, 10:00 am, St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church, 7171 Glenridge Drive NE, Atlanta, 30328

 

For more information call David Schutten, 678-837-1170, or Anna Garcia-Ashley at 404-627-8284