Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice to Hold National Black Religious Summit on...( WASHINGTON June 20 -- Reverend C...),Health

WASHINGTON, June 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Reverend Carlton W. Veazey, President and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), announces the Coalition's 12th Annual National Black Religious Summit on Sexuality, to be held July 9-11, 2008 at the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC.

RCRC is an interfaith coalition of national mainstream religious organizations dedicated to ensuring access to reproductive health care and achieving reproductive justice. For 35 years, RCRC has brought together national religious and religiously affiliated organizations from 15 denominations and traditions.

Since 1997, RCRC has worked to reduce the high rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases through our National Black Church Initiative, a program to "break the silence" about sex and sexuality in the African American community. The initiative assists Black clergy and laity in addressing teenage pregnancy, sexuality education and reproductive health within the context of African American religion and culture. We have worked in over 700 churches providing our "Keeping It Real!" faith-based sexuality education curriculum to more than 7,000 young men and women.

The annual National Black Religious Summit brings together over 600 adults and young people to celebrate spirituality and its importance to responsible sexual behavior. This year, our plenary speakers include the Honorable James E. Clyburn (D-SC), the Majority Whip for the U.S. House of Representatives; Reverend Edwin Clifton Sanders II, Senior Servant of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville, Tennessee; and, Reverend Dr. Reverend Kenneth Samuel, an academician at Emory and Clark Atlanta Universities.

Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., recently retired Pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, was scheduled to speak at the Summit but notified us last week that he will not be able to attend. Reverend Wright
'/>"/>