FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Phillip E. Thompson
president@naacploudoun.com
August 31, 2017
On Thursday, September 7, Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie will participate in a Virginia Gubernatorial Forum on the campus of Virginia Union University. A wide range of nonpartisan groups and organizations will serve as co-hosts for this event, including the Baptist General Convention of Virginia, the Area Four NAACP Leadership, the Loudoun County chapter of the NAACP, and many others. The Forum topics and questions for the candidates will focus on important issues and concerns of African American and minority families in the Commonwealth of Virginia, including education, economic opportunity, racial discrimination, and religious affairs.
WHAT: 2017 Virginia Gubernatorial Forum
WHERE: Coburn Hall, Virginia Union University, 1500 N. Lombardy Street, Richmond, VA 23220
WHEN: Thursday, September 7, 2017, 7:00PM - 9:00PM (Public entry begins at 5:30PM)
“This forum will be a great opportunity for our candidates for Governor to discuss how their policies will impact African American and minority families in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Jesse Frierson, Virginia NAACP Political Affairs Chair. “This forum is taking place at a location where ideas are debated, policies are researched, and minds are molded. Virginia Union University is a fine institution of higher learning, and we are proud that this historically black college is hosting this very important conversation about the future of our Commonwealth.”
The forum style will feature Mr. Northam and Mr. Gillespie answering questions individually at separate times. Loudoun County NAACP President and State NAACP Criminal Justice Chair Phillip E. Thompson will serve as the moderator, while former Delegate Michael Futrell and Prince William County Republican Committee Vice Chairman D.J. Jordan will serve as questioning panelists. A full list of the co-host organizations will be announced on Tuesday, September 5.
The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. The vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race.
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