The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is proud to announce that Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Jane Holl Lute ( Biography ) will deliver the keynote remarks during this year's Civil Rights Awards Lunch headlining an outstanding program of awards and speakers at one of the anchor events during the ADC Annual National Convention.

The Deputy Secretary, the second-ranking official at DHS after Secretary Napolitano, has over 30 years of dedicated military and executive experience and has served as Assistant Secretary General to the United Nations responsible for the support of international peacekeeping operations.  ADC is pleased to welcome Deputy Secretary Lute to discuss the ongoing challenges facing law enforcement and the post-9/11 communities and the struggle to maintain and promote civil rights and security simultaneously.

Also confirmed to deliver special remarks at the Saturday June 13 lunch is Chair of the House Judiciary Committee Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). Congressman Conyers has been a tireless advocate for civil rights and most recently championed legislation to provide resources to law enforcement to combat hate crimes. Since the days when he marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Congressman Conyers has been working to protect the rights of all Americans and the integrity of our Constitutional values.

The honorees at this year's Civil Rights Awards Lunch include Yale Law School's Lowenstein Human Rights Clinic and National Litigation Project. Spearheaded by Professors Michael Wishnie, Hope Metcalf, Ramzi Kassem, Tina Monshipour Foster, and an outstanding team of Yale law students, the clinic continues to play a central and instrumental role in exposing targeted round-ups of Muslim immigrants during Operation Frontline in 2004 and 2005. Through the work of the clinic, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit resulted in the release of key documentation on Operation Frontline which, when analyzed, demonstrated systematic discrimination in immigration raids targeting Muslim immigrants.

Also, ADC is proud to present this year's Excellence in Advocacy Award to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) for their outstanding work toward substantively and constructively addressing challenges facing the Arab and Muslim community post-9/11. The Award will be accepted by MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati who has successfully spearheaded MPAC's excellent advocacy efforts on multiple levels.

Other confirmed speakers during this year's ADC Annual National Convention include Surprise Special Guest , Congressman Keith Ellison, Congressman John Dingle, Congressman Brian Baird, Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Archbishop Cappucci of Jerusalem, Dean of the White House Press Corps Helen Thomas, Professor John Mearsheimer, J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami, Palestinian Member of the Kenesset Said Naffaa, Professor Saad Eddine Ibrahim, ACLU National Board Member Preetmohan Singh, FBI Assistant Director John Miller, and AFL-CIO Middle East and North Africa Director Heba El-Shazli.  For more information, please visit our Convention website:  http://www.adc.org/convention .

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