Seattle – Representative John Lewis (D-GA) will be the keynote speaker on Thursday, January 26, at the annual meeting of Seattle-based Casey Family Programs, the largest national foundation whose sole mission is to provide and improve – and ultimately prevent the need for – foster care.
“We are thrilled to have one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement – and a man who continues to dedicate his life to protecting human rights and securing civil liberties – play such a central role in our annual meeting,” said William C. Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs, the nation’s largest operating foundation focused on foster care. “On both the 40th Anniversary of Casey Family Programs and the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, it is an honor to have Congressman Lewis address an audience dedicated to the very things he has stood for: justice, equality, and advocacy.”
Deeply inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rep. Lewis will discuss his struggles fighting injustice and racial prejudice during the Civil Rights Movement and his experiences spanning a life of public service as an elected official and devoted community leader. The Congressman’s remarks have particular meaning for Casey Family Programs as it focuses its attention on eliminating the disproportionate representation of children of color in the child welfare system, and addressing its root cause: institutional racism.
Rep. Lewis was first elected to Congress in 1986 and has served as U.S. Representative of Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District since then. His dedication to the highest ethical standards and moral principles began early in his life. As a young boy he was inspired by the activism surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He became an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement, challenging segregation and organizing student activism. By age 23 he was an architect of and a keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in August 1963.
In 1964, Lewis coordinated efforts to organize voter registration drives and community action programs during the Mississippi Freedom Summer, spearheading one of the seminal moments of the Civil Rights Movement, leading 600 peaceful and orderly protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. The marchers were attacked by Alabama state troopers in a brutal confrontation. Images captured by media revealed the cruelty of the segregated South and helped hasten the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Lewis has remained at the vanguard of progressive social movements and the struggle of human rights in the United States.
Casey Family Programs was pleased that Congress requested in 2005 – at the urging of Casey -- that the Government Accountability Office initiate a study examining the disproportionate number of African American children in foster care. Casey Family Programs insists on equity in opportunities and outcomes for children by addressing the institutional racism that makes children of color more likely to be placed into foster care and less likely to receive services they need to succeed. Casey Family Programs looks forward to working with Rep. Lewis and other policymakers when the report is released later in 2006.
For those media members interested in attending Rep. Lewis’ keynote on Thursday, January 26, please contact Megan Barrett in advance by phone at 206.216.4183, or by email at mbarrett@casey.org.
Casey Family Programs celebrates the 40th anniversary of its founding by United Parcel Service visionary Jim Casey, who dedicated his life to building stronger, safer communities for children, youth and families.