Press Releases
Tonight: 50-Years After the Watts Riots, Rev. Al Sharpton & National Action Network Host the ‘Rise of the Phoenix’ Awards in Los Angeles Honoring Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Film Producer John Singleton, Bishop Noel Jones & more
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For Immediate Release
August 12, 2015
Contact: Liz Kenigsberg/Dominic Hawkins
Phone: 202-464-9522
Tonight: 50-Years After the Watts Riots, Rev. Al Sharpton & National Action Network Host the ‘Rise of the Phoenix’ Awards in Los Angeles
Honoring Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Film Producer John Singleton, Bishop Noel Jones & more
Proceeds from the Dinner Will Support NAN’s 2015 Technology Tour & Invited Participants to Include Mayor Eric Garcetti, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Earvin “Magic” Johnson
LOS ANGELES – Fifty years after the Watts Riots, one of the country’s leading civil rights organizations, National Action Network (NAN), will host the Rise of the Phoenix Awards on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 7:00 PM at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Honorees include former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Film Producer John Singleton and Bishop Noel Jones among others.
NAN will honor community leaders who have followed in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose lasting impact on the Los Angeles area is still relevant today. Dr. King visited Los Angeles in the aftermath of the Watts Riots to decry the violence; today, Rev. Al Sharpton and the Los Angeles Chapter of National Action Network are working in the same tradition to carry on Dr. King’s vision of equality.
Proceeds from the event will go towards funding NAN’s 2015 Technology Tour, which will create tech academies in five cities across the U.S., including New York, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles and Oakland. Sponsors include: AFSCME Local 393/AFL-CIO; Charter Communications, Inc; The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO; SEIU Local 2015; Nationwide; UDW; The Homecare Providers Union, United Domestic Workers of America.
This year’s honorees are:
- Janice Bryant Howroyd, Founder and CEO of ACT·1 Group and a strong advocate for balance of education and entrepreneurship in the workforce.
- Bishop Noel Jones, Senior Pastor of the City of Refuge Church
- Brad Johnson, Restaurateur and Owner of Post & Beam, one of Los Angeles’ top restaurant owners..
- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Former Mayor of Los Angeles
- John Singleton, Director, Producer and Writer, best known for Boyz n the Hood, Higher Learning, Shaft and 2 Fast 2 Furious.
WHAT:
National Action Network Rise of the Phoenix Awards
WHEN:
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
7:00 PM PT
WHERE:
Millennium Biltmore Hotel
506 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90071
WHO:
Rev. Al Sharpton
Janice Bryant Howroyd
Brad Johnson
Bishop Noel Jones
John Singleton
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
NAN Executive Director Janaye Ingram
NAN LA Chapter President Reverend K.W. Tullos
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Invited Participants include:
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
Earvin “Magic” Johnson
Sean “Diddy” Combs