Latino summit coming to ECU on Friday

East Carolina University will host a Mexican and Latin American leadership summit Friday to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the state's immigrant workforce.

Presented by the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina, the summit will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Murphy Center, which is part of the ECU athletic complex.

Dr. Helen Marrow of Harvard University will begin the summit with a keynote address focusing on Latino immigration in Eastern North Carolina.

J.R. Peralta, Association of Mexicans in North Carolina President and Lenoir Community College Coordinator for Latino Continuing Education, expects over 300 people will attend the summit.

"It's the first time we have ever held a Mexican and Latin leadership summit," he said.

Groups from California, Texas, Florida and Honduras are scheduled to attend, among others, he said. Panel discussions will include topics on the Economic Benefits of Building Latino Leadership as well as African-Americans and Latinos Uniting for Social Justice.

Peralta said there are about 700,000 Latinos living in North Carolina.

"The purpose of the summit is to highlight the work of Latino leaders in North Carolina and support them with knowledge and skills so that they can work through this period of change and growth," Peralta said in a press release. "Given the anti-immigrant rhetoric in our state, we hope to lend the leadership support to counteract the attacks they are experiencing,"

Additional guest speakers will include Angela Sanbrano, National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities President, and Dr. Juan Andrade Jr., President of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.

Dr. David Conde, ECU Senior Associate Chancellor, is a member of the summit's coordinating board.

"ECU is sponsoring this important effort because we are looking at helping to build organizational infrastructure within the Latino community and recognize that our future students live within those communities," Conde said.

The summit is free and open to the public. Registration for the event will be held onsite beginning at 7:30 a.m. Friday.

Chris Lavender can be reached at (252) 559-1078 or clavender@freedomenc.com.