Black elected officials from across Kentucky will meet this week in Hopkinsville for a two-day summit at the Pioneers Memorial Complex on North Drive.
Kentucky Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials is hosting its members and several guest speakers beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 15.
George Booker, mayor of Maywood, Illinois, and president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, will give a keynote address titled “Leadership, Equity and Opportunity: The State of Our Nation.”
Several local residents will moderate or serve on summit panels both days. They include retired district court judge Arnold Lynch, Men2Be founder LaDessa Lewis, former state representative Jeff Taylor, retired health department administrator Anita Simmons, MEDI executive director Henry Norton, physician Dr. Chester Crump, minister and author Dr. Darvin Adams, and several youth.
Ward 11 Hopkinsville city councilman Jason Bell is second vice president of the state caucus. The president is Selena Hudson, a Vine Grove council member in Hardin County.
Friday’s summit schedule is available here; Saturday’s schedule is here. Community members are invited to register and attend.
“We want the community to come out and join the discussion,” Hudson told Hoptown Chronicle in an email.
The cost to attend the full summit is $100. The cost for a single day is $50. Registration is available online.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
