Nationally syndicated columnist and CNN political contributor Roland Martin will headline the Las Vegas Urban League's Equal Opportunity Day (EOD) Luncheon, Sunday, February 22, at the Paris Hotel and Casino. The EOD Luncheon will highlight the annual accomplishments of the Las Vegas Urban League and celebrate the National Urban League, which is observing its 100th anniversary this year.
Martin is expected to share his political and social perspectives of American life following the election of U.S. President Barack Obama. He will also discuss the challenging work of social service and community-based non profit organizations during the economic recession.
Martin is host of Washington Watch with Roland Martin, a one-hour Sunday morning news show on TV One Cable Network, and is featured frequently on various CNN news shows including Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull, The Situation Room, Anderson Cooper 360 and the Tom Joyner Morning Show where he is senior analyst. He is author of “Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith” and “Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America.”
Named by Ebony Magazine in 2008 and 2009 as one of the 150 most influential African Americans in the U.S., Martin was recipient of NAACP Image Awards for interviews he conducted with First Lady Michelle Obama (2009) and the former U.S. Senator Barack Obama (2008).
Martin was recognized as one of the top 50 political pundits by the Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom and was awarded the 2008 President's Award by the National Association of Black Journalists for his work in multiple media platforms. He has won more than 30 professional awards for journalistic excellence, including a regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television News Directors Association. Additionally, he received top reporting honors from the National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Minorities in Cable and National Associated Press-Managing Editors Conference. In 2008 he was inducted into the Texas A & M University Journalism Hall of Honor.
Widely regarded as an insightful and provocative analyst, Mr. Martin has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, FOX News, Court TV, BET Nightly News, BBC News, The Word Network, America's Black Forum, American Urban Radio Networks, NPR's News and Notes, and on media outlets in Canada, Columbia, Italy, Australia and South Africa.
From October 2005 to October 2008, he served as a radio talk show for WVON-AM in Chicago, where he currently hosts the weekly show, Urban Business Roundtable.
Among his appointments in journalism, Martin is distinguished is the former executive editor and general manager of the Chicago Defender, the nation's most historic Black newspaper. He is the former founding news editor of Savoy Magazine and has written for Ebony and Essence magazines.
Martin holds an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University and a master's degree in Christian Communications from Louisiana Baptist University.
Proceeds from the EOD Luncheon will support Urban League programs to serve deserving citizens in Southern Nevada. Information about luncheon tickets, tables and event sponsorship is available by phoning (702) 636-3949. The event begins at 1 p.m.
About the Las Vegas Urban League
About the Las Vegas-Clark County Urban League
The Las Vegas-Clark County Urban League (LVCCUL) is an affiliate of the National Urban League, which was founded in 1910. The LVCCUL was established in 2004 and is the largest community action agency in Nevada. Its mission is to empower communities and ensure equal opportunity for low-income people. This mission is achieved through the delivery of social services and economic assistance to individuals and families seeking to attain self-sufficiency. The agency is funded, in part, by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. For more information, please visit www.lvccul.org.
