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ACLU Broward Chapter Annual Meeting
Featuring Congressman Alcee L. Hastings as Keynote Speaker and Civil Libertarian Career Achievement Honorees: Congresswoman Carrie Meek and Broward County Library Director Samuel F. Morrison
December 18, 2002
Ft. Lauderdale -- The 2003 ACLU Broward Chapter Annual Meeting will be from 1 to 5 p.m. January 18, 2003 in the auditorium of the Broward County African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 W. Sistrunk Blvd., located on the southeast corner of W. Sistrunk Boulevard and Northwest 27th Avenue in Ft. Lauderdale. There will be a reception after the meeting. The event is free and open to the public.
The keynote speaker is Congressman Alcee L. Hastings, who has distinguished himself as an attorney, civil rights activist, judge, and congressperson. Throughout his lifetime, he has championed the rights of minorities, women, the elderly, and immigrants. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, he became the first African American to serve as a federal judge in Florida, and he served in that position with distinction and honor for ten years. Along with Congresswomen Carrie Meek and Corrine Brown, Congressman Hastings became the first African American from Florida elected to serve in Congress since Reconstruction. He was most recently elected in 2002, and represents the 23rd District of Florida. Congressman Hastings is a member of the House Rules Committee where he serves as the ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Technology and the House. Also, he is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
"Keynote Speaker Congressman Alcee Hastings will address the current state of our civil liberties and freedoms, which is a topic that is very timely and of great importance in light of recent 9/11 events," said Colleen Kathryn O'Loughlin, Annual Meeting Committee Chair and ACLU Broward Chapter Vice President.
The chapter will present its Civil Libertarian Career Achievement Award to Congresswoman Carrie Meek, a lifetime civil rights advocate who has had successful careers as a public servant, college administrator and educator. Along with Congressman Alcee Hastings and Congresswoman Corrine Brown, Congresswoman Meek became the first African-American from Florida elected to serve in Congress since Reconstruction. Congresswoman Meek was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 from Florida's 17th Congressional District. She serves on the House Appropriations Committee; Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government; and the Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies . Before her election to Congress, she was a member of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate, where she chaired the Education Appropriations Subcommittee. Prior to her years of public service, she coached women's basketball at Bethune-Cookman College, taught biological sciences and physical education there and at Florida A&M University, and later served as Special Assistant to the Vice President of Miami-Dade Community College in Miami, Florida.
The chapter will also present its Civil Libertarian Career Achievement Award to Broward County Library Director Samuel F. Morrison, who brought his vision of the Broward County African-American Research Library and Cultural Center to life. Mr. Morrison was appointed Director of the Broward County Library system in 1990. Previously, Samuel Morrison served as the Chief Librarian for the City of Chicago from 1987 to 1990, and from 1974 to 1987 he served as the Deputy Director of the Broward County Library system. He is active in the American Library Association in which he has served on the Governing Council and as Chair of the Budgeting Committee, the Organizational Committee, and the Publishing and Nominating Committees. He is also a former president of the Florida Library Association. While serving as President of the Southeast Florida Library Information Network, Mr. Morrison was instrumental in developing and implementing the SEFLIN Free-Net.
"Our Broward Chapter wanted to recognize Congresswoman Meek's and Samuel Morrison's lifetime work advancing our civil liberties," said Colleen Kathryn O'Loughlin. "They have fulfilled dreams of equality and advanced our civil liberties in the process. Certainly,?both have fought for our freedoms in different ways ? Congresswoman Meek through the political process, and Samuel Morrison through the library system.? In essence, they have taught us we can make our dreams of equality, freedom, and fairness come true."
The Reception following the annual meeting is free and open to the public. It will feature a live performance by the local blues band The Ravens. Appetizers, compliments of Try My Thai Caf? and Try My Thai Caf? Too, will be served. Fruit punch and water are being donated by First Moon Caf?. Please call Colleen Kathryn O'Loughlin, Annual Meeting Committee Chair and Broward Chapter Vice President at 954-942-5577 for more information.
Media Contact: Ft. Lauderdale: Colleen Kathryn O'Loughlin, ACLU Broward Chapter, 954-942-5577 or Miami: Alessandra Soler Meetze, ACLU of Florida, 305-576-2337 ext. 16
