Loyola Student Dispatch

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, is slated to be the keynote speaker this weekend at a youth leadership conference at Loyola University Chicago.

Here are the details from a press release:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, will be among the keynote speakers at the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership World Leadership Congress July 23-30 in Chicago. HOBY is the nation’s foremost nonprofit youth leadership development organization.

Now in its 43^rd year, the 2011 World Leadership Congress is expected to attract more than 400 youth ambassadors from the United States and ten different countries who will engage in leadership learning and hands-on community service projects. Rev. Jackson will address the gathering on July 27 as part of the discussion on “Leadership for Society.”

“Over the past 40 years Rev. Jackson has played a pivotal role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality, and economic and social justice,” said Javier LaFianza, president and chief executive officer of HOBY. “We are honored to have him address our students and know that his words will be inspiring and memorable for all who attend.”

As one of America’s foremost civil rights, religious and political figures, Rev. Jackson has been called the “Conscience of the Nation” and the “Great Unifier,” challenging America to be inclusive and to establish just and humane priorities for the benefit of all. He is known for bringing people together on common ground across lines of race, culture, class, gender and belief.

Throughout all, a hallmark of Reverend Jackson’s work has been his commitment to youth. He has visited thousands of high schools, colleges, universities and correctional facilities encouraging excellence, inspiring hope and challenging young people to study diligently and stay drug free.

For his work Rev. Jackson has received more than 40 honorary doctorate degrees and frequently lectures at major colleges and universities including Howard, Yale, Princeton, Morehouse, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford and Hampton. In 1984 he founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a social justice organization devoted to political empowerment, education and changing public policy. In 1996 the Rainbow Coalition and Operation PUSH merged to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

The World Leadership Congress will be held at Loyola University Chicago’s Lakeshore Campus. Further information on the event may be obtained at www.hoby.org.

For more than 50 years, Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership has helped to cultivate tomorrow’s leaders by inspiring a global community of youth and volunteers to a life dedicated to leadership, service and innovation. HOBY programs annually provide nearly 10,000 local and international high school students the opportunity to participate in unique leadership training, service learning and motivation-building experiences. HOBY also provides adults the opportunity to make a significant impact on the lives of youth by volunteering, and today more than 4,000 volunteers and over 365,000 alumni proudly make up the HOBY family. Further information may be obtained at www.hoby.org.