BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The 2015 A.G. Gaston Conference will shine the spotlight on the impact of poverty and how eliminating the racial wealth gap can boost the entire Birmingham metro area.
The Green Power Presentation, “Eliminating Poverty in Birmingham,” will take place at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex on Wednesday, February 18 at 10 a.m. Major executives from Regions Bank and Protective Life will discuss why it’s important to enhance economic opportunities in Birmingham. The Birmingham bank and insurer have teamed to fund the work of the Hope Coalition of America, a nonprofit that provides free financial and small business seminars to help address poverty.
Following the panel discussion, the 11:30 a.m. A.G. Gaston Empowerment Luncheon will feature keynote speaker John Hope Bryant, founder of the Hope Coalition and author of “How the Poor Can Save Capitalism.”
Fifty years after the Rev. Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights in Birmingham, economic parity remains a dream. Conference co-founder Bob Dickerson said it is timely to focus on wealth disparity, especially since Blacks were hit hard by the housing collapse that fueled the Great Recession of 2007. The median wealth of white households was 13 times the median wealth of Black households in 2013, up from a wealth gap of eight times in 2010, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Federal Reserve. That is the highest level since 1989.
To register for the Feb. 17-18 conference, go to www.aggastonconference.com.
Dr. Gaston, named by “Black Enterprise” magazine as the Black Entrepreneur of the 20th Century, built a multi-million-dollar empire that included radio stations, a funeral home, business school, motel, and construction, insurance and banking industries.
