On August 29-31, several hundred conservative leaders, pastors, activists and concerned citizens will gather at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois for the region's first Black Conservative Summit (BCS). The Summit has also been designated a World Congress of Families Regional Event.
WCF Managing Director Larry Jacobs stated: "We're honored to be involved with this historic conference, particularly because of its emphasis on the natural family." Organizers explain: "Both historical and biblical precedence bears witness to the fact that the 'natural family' is the foundation of our society."
They further note, "As a matter of fact, married families themselves greatly benefit society as a whole because, generally speaking, these families are better off financially, socially and health-wise than any other family structure."
Jacobs said it was encouraging to see family issues addressed forthrightly by leaders of the black community during the week of the "50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights March on Washington" when all of America should be honoring and remembering the pro-family leadership and faith of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"In the United States, no demographic has suffered more from the decline of the family than African-Americans. In the early 1950s, the out-of-wedlock birth rate was the same for black and white Americans. By 2009, 70% of black children were born out-of-wedlock. This has impacted every social pathology, including poverty, crime, drug use and school-dropout rates."
Unfortunately, the civil rights establishment has focused almost exclusively on "institutional racism" -- always an easy political sell among the uninformed -- instead of on the destruction of black families and children (by programs intended to help them) starting with the Great Society in the 1960s.
The Black Conservative Summit will focus on a number of critical issues, including education and economic policy. The Summit is being organized by the Freedom's Journal Institute for the Study of Faith and Public Policy.
Confirmed speakers include Ken Blackwell (former Cincinnati Mayor and Ohio Secretary of State), Ben Kinchlow (former co-host of CBN's "700 Club"), Kay Coles James (Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under President George W. Bush), and syndicated columnist and commentator Star Parker.
