ACPA Opening General Session – Keynote Van Jones

The ACPA opening general session took place in the Kentucky International Convention Centre and involved a large audience. Prior to this, in a Convention Orientation session for first time ACPA attendees, the current President of ACPA (Heidi Levine) indicated that this year’s conference was said to have approximately 3500 ACPA members in attendance. There are approximately 10 countries represented at the conference with attendance from nations such as Liberia, Jamaica, Canada, Qatar, etc. (apparently Jen Gonzales and I were the only international attendees in the room at the time!).  After a brief opening Louisville trumpet fanfare presentation, the conference began with several opening addresses from the ACPA governing board members.  Much later, ACPA was pleased to announce that they were awarding the association’s first ever award for humanitarian efforts.  The recipient of the award went to none other than one of the greatest boxers of all time, Muhammad Ali.  Although Ali was not able to make the event to accept the award, a brief speech and video was hosted on his behalf to inform the crowd of the achievements of this remarkable individual. The crowd burst into applause to celebrate Ali and his many accomplishments.

Opening Trumpet Solo

The Kentucky Kai Five Bluegrass Band

Afterwards, the crowd was introduced to the guest speaker and environmental advocate, Mr. Van Jones. Jones opened his keynote address by saying to the crowd “Thank you.  Thank you for all that you do”.  At this point, Jones informed the crowd that it was always a pleasure to speak to a crowd of this nature, as we were “the people that encouraged the people who encourage”.  Jones’ discussion raised concern and dealt with issues related to a variety of topics – global warming, the economy, our education system, as well as thoughts on the link between diversity and prosperity.  “We could be living in a world soon where we are increasing diversity but decreasing prosperity – this is a formula for a battleground”. With an analogy of the state of gay marriage rights in America, Jones began to share with the audience that he felt that we need to be a “rainbow nation by restoring prosperity”.  Jones further shared with the group his vision for how this could be achieved – the Green Economy or Agenda.  “We need to change how we power America”. Jones suggested that with a shift if how the nation is simply wired, the economy (through increased jobs) could begin to flourish. “Everything that is good for the environment is a job”. 

Van Jones - Opening Keynote

As Jones has worked firsthand with Obama and the pentagon, he shared with the audience that he knows for a fact that the Pentagon is concerned with topics such as global warming. Jones ended his talk by having the audience reflect on the wisdom of our ancestors, and the meaning that they believed and attempted to convey to us in our land.  Jones further suggested that the way in which we can make a difference, is to recognize that we all need to understand the totality of the situation – not just one issue such as racism.  Jones thanked the audience, and reminded them that we were doing great work and that if we could just continue to “hold that ladder” for our students, we will help our generation answer correctly some of the most important questions – who are Americans? What makes someone American? According to Jones, “our country can’t afford to send people away from campuses unenlightened.” The audience applauded Jones, and then left to check out the 4^th Street Live reception, and to begin the search for dinner. 

4th Street Live Concert!