New York City’s First Lady Chirlane McCray
Immigration Forum Hosted By The Black Insitute And Christian Cultural Center
Launching “The G Project” to highlight Impact of current immigration laws/reform on Black Americans
On Wednesday, January 22, 2014 The Black Institute and Christian Cultural Center will host an interactive town hall forum focusing on immigration policies, reform efforts, and their impact on Black immigration.
Chirlane McCray, the First Lady of New York City, will join Reverend A.R. Bernard, The Black Institute, and Christian Cultural Center in kicking off the event, which will take place at the Christian Cultural Center, 12020 Flatlands Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, at 6:00pm.
The town hall discussion will include TJ Holmes (journalist/commentator), who will moderate a panel which includes: Joy-Ann Reid (Managing Editor, MSNBC), Bishop Orlando Findlayter (CUSH/New Hope Christian Fellowship), Jose Vargas (Founder, Define Americans), and Pras (Grammy-Winning Artist).
The panelists will encourage audience participation in discussing current immigration policies, a heavily-flawed system that neglects to address how the changing demographics in the United States affect immigration policies and laws. It is estimated there are over 60 million black Americans with recent immigrant backgrounds currently living in the United States.
Additionally, The Black Institute will officially launch the “G Project,” which will identify black immigrants, including 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4thgeneration black immigrants. The G Project aims to recognize, empower, and educate these individuals about the importance of immigration reform, as well as build a stronger immigrant rights movement that is inclusive of all races and ethnicities. Audience members will have the opportunity to take the G survey to track and celebrate their immigrant past.
Black Americans are diverse in their immigrant statuses and backgrounds, and many of these individuals are important members of politics, entertainment, sports, journalism, and science, among other fields. The town hall forum will incorporate these voices into the immigration reform discussion in hopes of advancing the immigrant rights and civil rights movements. With hopes that the 113th Congress will address comprehensive immigration forum during its latest session, the need to engage and activate all individuals affected by the issue is paramount.
The event is being supported by Churches United to Save & Heal (CUSH), New York Communities for Change (NYCC), New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and Make the Road.
For more information on the town hall forum visit
For more information on the G Project visit
The Christian Cultural Center (CCC) is located at 12020 Flatlands Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, 11207.
The mission of The Black Institute is to shape intellectual discourse and dialogue to impact public policy uniquely from a Black perspective — a perspective which includes all people of color in the United States and throughout the Diaspora. For more please see www.theblackinstitute.org
