Savannah is the host city for the 2009 Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) State Convention on October 2nd -4th.

Dick Gregory Over 23 SCLC chapters from around the state of Georgia, national SCLC leadership, state and national elected officials, labor unions, and other national civil rights and civic organizations will convene in Savannah, Georgia for the SCLC Georgia State Convention 2009. On October 3 the Annual Awards Gala will be held, and comedian and activist Dick Gregory will serve as keynote speaker.

The focus of this year’s convention is healthy families/ healthy lives, voter education and the Nov. 3rd Municipal elections.

There will be national and local media coverage on the convention with a dedication and formal gala celebration for the late Rev. Dr. Hosea Williams.

Participants include The Honorable Atty Dexter M. Wimbish General Counsel; The Honorable Bernice Frazier, Executive Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Foundation; Dr. Byron Clay National Interim President of SCLC; Mrs. Elizabeth Omilami, Executive Director of the Hosea Feed the Hungry Program; and Mr. Richard Ray, Georgia State President of the AFL-CIO.

There will also be a tribute to national recording artist Jimmy “Lord” Brown of the famed group “Brick”.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an American civil rights organization.

SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , and had a large role in the American Civil Rights Movement.

The very beginnings of the SCLC can be traced back to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Montgomery Bus Boycott began on December 5, 1955 after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. The boycott lasted for 381 days and ended on December 21, 1956, with the desegregation of the Montgomery bus system.

Its sphere of influence and interests has become international in scope because the human rights movement transcends national boundaries