On Thursday, August 13, 2015 at the Birmingham Sheraton in Birmingham, Alabama, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance Fund (Federation) will honor the Reverend Charles and Shirley Sherrod who will receive the Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Annual Meeting will be held on August 14 & 15 at the Federation's Rural Training and Research Center in Epes, Alabama; however, some events and workshops will also take place in Birmingham on August 13. Please consider attending both events and please see below regarding making reservations and regsitration.
This year's honorees, Charles and Shirley Sherrod, are a veteran civil rights couple, united in marriage and in mission, currently living in Albany, Georgia. They have worked tirelessly for civil rights, human rights, Black land retention and economically underserved landholders, community empowerment, and the economic development throughout the rural South. Their extraordinary work has spanned more than four decades.
Shirley Sherrod worked for the Federation for more than twenty years developing a nationally recognized agricultural outreach program in southwest Georgia. She left the Federation staff to become the first black USDA Rural Development State Director in Georgia in 2009 at the beginning of the Obama Administration. She was wrongfully dismissed based on the misunderstanding of a speech she gave to the NAACP in Georgia, on assistance she provided to a white farmer, when she was working for the Federation. She went on to write a book about her life and that experience.
The Annual Meeting celebration at the Federation's Rural Training & Research Center in Epes, Alabama will include an update on the "Women and Hispanic Settlement" along with workshops and plenaries on cooperative development, land retention and other rural development programs. There will also be a fish fry and auction on Friday evening followed by state caucuses on Saturday.
"We look forward to seeing you at our 48th Annual celebration to honor Charles and Shirley Sherrod in Birmingham and at our Annual Meeting in Epes," said Cornelius Blanding, Executive Director of the Federation. "Our theme this year is 'Growing Sustainable Partnerships'. It is at the Federation's Annual Meeting that those of us from around the South and the Nation come together to strengthen and grow these partnerships. This includes dialogues and plans to enhance the opportunities for and by the farmers, rural and urban residents, cooperative advocates and countless others who attend. We recognize that advancements can only be made effectively through strong partnerships. We look forward to seeing you in Birmingham and Epes to , as we say, continue "Growing Sustainable Partnerships.."
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* The Reservation Form can be printed, filled out and faxed to our office at 404 765 9178 and reservation donation can be made on our website on the Federation's website "donate" page or a check can be mailed to the Federation office at:
Federation of Southern Cooperative/Land Assistance Fund
2969 Church Street, East Point GA 30344
Annual Meeting in Epes - August 14-15
* The Registration Form for the Annual meeting in Epes can be printed, filled out and faxed to our office at 404 765 9178 and reservation donation can be made on the Federation's website "donate" page, or a check can be mailed to the Federation office at:
Federation of Southern Cooperative/Land Assistance Fund
For any questions regarding the above please call Eboni Thomas at 404 765 0991.
Note: The Federation/LAF, now in its 48th year, assists Black family farmers across the South with farm management, debt restructuring, alternative crop suggestions, marketing expertise and a whole range of services to ensure family farm survivability.
2769 Church Street · East Point, GA · 30344
404 765 0991 · www.federation.coop
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