30th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Awards Breakfast

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, asserted that “communications issues are the civil rights issues of today” as he delivered the 30th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture in Washington. Paying tribute to Rev. Everett Parker's "tenacious" pursuit of justice, Jackson described the media system as critical, because the media are the means "our society uses to tell our stories--the stories we use to communicate our values and morals--the media is our window to the world."

Prepared remarks for 30th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Award.

I have written in this space before about the obstacles facing telecommunications and media reformers, about the crushing influence of big money in all things political, and the stubborn resistance of our leaders to harness the winds of social and technology change to the enhancement of American democracy in the Twenty-first century. At the same time, I have expressed hope, even optimism, that we are capable of changing course. Changing course demands three things:
1) smart and totally committed leaders who know how to build and who are possessed of the courage to persist against whatever is thrown against them;
2) like-minded individuals and organizations pulling together on a common agenda; and,
3) a media environment that lays out the issues citizens need to understand if they are successfully to practice the demanding art of self-government during this time of grave national peril.

The United Church of Christ’s Office of Communication Inc. today announced the honorees it will recognize at the 30th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Breakfast on September 25, 2012.