WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Texas Governor and Republican Presidential Candidate George W. Bush will speak at the opening ceremony of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists’ 18th Annual Convention, June 21-24, in Houston.
The opening reception will take place at 7 p.m. in the ballroom of the Westin Galleria Hotel. Vice President Al Gore, the democratic presidential candidate, has also been invited to speak at the convention but has yet to confirm.
The convention, "Camino Al Futuro: A Diverse Future," will focus on issues affecting the nation’s Latino community as well as Latino journalists.
On June 20, the day before the official opening of the convention, UNITY: Journalists of Color will hold a town hall meeting "Unequal Justice: The Administration of Law" at Rice University from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The town hall meeting will focus on whether the administration of law is applied equally to all racial and ethnic groups.
The NAHJ convention will feature other workshops and panel discussions on such topical issues as the media’s coverage of the Elian Gonz‡lez story, the challenge for Latino journalists in covering political controversies and whether U.S. public schools are serving the needs of U.S. Hispanic children.
The convention will also feature plenary sessions on the 2000 Census, the effect of the Latino vote on the 2000 Presidential election and the debate over affirmative action.
Many of the nation’s most prominent Latino journalists and political leaders will be participating as moderators or panelists at the convention, including Geraldo Rivera, host of CNBC’s "Rivera Live," Ray Suarez, senior reporter for the Newshour with Jim Leher, John Quinones of ABC News, Juan Gonzalez, columnist for the New York Daily News and author of "Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America," Armando Guzman, Washington correspondent for Univision, California’s Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante and Norma Cantu, assistant secretary for U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights.
The NAHJ, founded in 1984, is dedicated to the recognition and professional development of Hispanics in the newsroom.
For a complete schedule of all events and activities, please visit NAHJ’s Web site at www.nahj.org or call NAHJ’s Communication’s Director Joseph Torres at (202) 662-7143.
