Democratic Legacy

This might be making a mountain out of a molehill, but any organization that lasts 50 years should be celebrated.

Details from the AP and the Gainesville Times

ATLANTA (AP) -- When the curtain raises on the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's annual convention in Atlanta on Friday, the organization will be championing economic empowerment and civil rights - some of the same causes that sparked its creation 50 years ago.

Voting rights will also be a focus of the five-day event. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is scheduled to address the group on Saturday, and former President Bill Clinton is expected to participate on Monday.

As a nonpartisan group, the SCLC invited all the presidential candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties to attend the convention, and also invited President Bush, who did not reply to the invitation. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton - both outspoken advocates for voter education and empowerment - are also scheduled to attend.

SCLC President Charles Steele said on Thursday that issues like the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding school desegregation and the government's response to Hurricane Katrina illustrate a need for the group now more than ever before.

Bush shoved the event to the side to take a vacation. Nice guy.