Ready to make some noise? In less than 2 weeks, the 9th annual National Immigrant Integration Conference -- WE THE PEOPLE -- will take place in Nashville, TN!
Nashville is renowned for its culture-and especially for being the home of country music. Earlier, we announced that the NIIC will feature Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei, an Appalachian and Chinese folk duo. We are thrilled to share that 13-time Grammy winning country music icon Emmylou Harris will also take the stage in her capacity as a Jesuit Refugee Service Ambassador.
Harris's voice and her incomparably expressive lyrics are her hallmarks, and in her forty years of performance, she's worked with luminaries like Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Prine, Gram Parsons and Steve Earle. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Emmylou has also long been active in change-making work, including support for the Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation's work to assist victims of conflict, and advocacy to end the use of landmines globally. She will be with us at NIIC after completing an 11-city tour across the country to support refugees.
Parallel to an exciting lineup of tracks and performances, we will also host a Community Navigator convening and a municipal gathering at the NIIC.
2016 National Community Navigator Convening will bring together over 100 Community Navigators, staff, and trainers, representing 37 organizations across 25 states. It comes at an opportune moment to share the broad collaboration that has been built to provide community-driven legal services and strategize as a field on immigrant integration organizing and policy moving forward.
The Cities for Citizenship (C4C) Municipal Gathering will bring together over 60 municipal, county, and immigrant rights leaders representing 40 cities and counties across the country, ranging from Anchorage, Alaska to Atlanta, Georgia. In a half-day convening, the C4C Municipal Gathering will discuss the work of naturalization, financial empowerment, immigrant integration, and strategies for 2017.
Register for NIIC 2016: WE THE PEOPLE!
See you in Music City!
Stephanie Teatro, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
Lindsey Harris, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
Tara Raghuveer, National Partnership for New Americans
Cynthia Greenberg, National Immigrant Integration Conference