BCAC’s 27th Annual Breakfast on Tuesday, May 1, brought noted civil rights attorney and child advocate Connie Rice (cousin to Condoleeza Rice) to Bridgeport’s Holiday Inn. To a capacity crowd, Rice spoke about the violence, education, health, and poverty issues plaguing Los Angeles and how Bridgeport was a microcosm of that larger city.
Rice, who was recently named one of the 100 Most Influential Black Lawyers in the United States, signed copies of her new book, Power Concedes Nothing, which chronicles a career in which she has taken on school and bus systems, Death Row, the states of Mississippi and California, and the Los Angeles Police Department—and won.
But Rice told BCAC’s guests that winning in court wasn’t enough. “I was winning all my cases, but my clients were losing their lives in the kill zones [of poor Los Angeles neighborhoods].” To change problems into solutions, Rice told the audience that they must reach out to a variety of constituencies so that these issues can be attacked from different levels. We all need to be involved Rice said, because “When you have a malaria epidemic, you can’t hand out fly swatters!”
Also at the event, BCAC presented Jeanne Milstein with its Jan Park Advocacy Award. Milstein served as the "public voice" for children in Connecticut for the past 12 years in the Office of the Child Advocate, which monitors and investigates services to children that are either provided by state agencies or funded by the state.
BCAC presented Hernan Illingworth with its Cesar Batalla Community Service Award for his strong leadership with Bridgeport parents and his deep commitment to improving the Bridgeport public schools. Illingworth has been Co-Chair of BCAC’s Education and Early Care Task Force and has served on BCAC’s Board of Directors. He has been integrally involved with the Parent Leadership Training Institute and currently sits on the Bridgeport Board of Education.
As Liz Dupont-Diehl, BCAC supporter and Policy Director of the Connecticut Association for Human Services, told us, “Congratulations and thanks for a MARVELOUS event! Once again you have hit it out of the park with an outstanding and inspiring speaker. I always think: Bridgeport is lucky to have BCAC.”