Star Parker, a black and conservative social activist who appears regularly on national news shows, will headline the fourth Sound Choices Gala on Oct. 17.
The ticket deadline has been extended to Tuesday.
Sound Choices offers pregnancy testing and counseling, Bible studies and baby clothing giveaways, among other services.
Parker, who beginning as a teenager abused drugs and had multiple abortions, is now an advocate for the other side of the abortion debate.
“Are we a people that see the unborn, family, and individuals as all part of the fundamental fabric of life? Or are we a materialistic, secular nation of individuals making political claims on each other?” Parker wrote in a recent column.
Parker lives in southern California. She is the founder and president of CURE, the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides national dialogue on issues of race and poverty in the media, inner city neighborhoods and public policy.
Changes
Prior to her involvement in social activism, Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles. After dedicating her life to Jesus, she returned to college, received a B.S. in marketing and launched an urban Christian magazine.
The 1992 Los Angeles riots destroyed her business, yet served as a springboard for her focus on faith-based and free market alternatives to empower the lives of the poor, according to her site, whose entries consistently take on the Obama administration. (“Despite slurs, intimidation, and widely reported physical attacks from union thugs, a few brave black souls have showed up at tea party protest rallies,” Parker wrote in a recent column.)
Currently, Parker is a regular commentator on CNN, MSNBC and FOX News. She has debated Jesse Jackson on BET; fought for school choice on Larry King Live; and defended welfare reform on the Oprah Winfrey Show
Jennifer Lamb, development director at Sound Choices, said Parker was chosen as the speaker because “she is very well-known in pro-life America. ... She’s a firecracker.”
The fundraisers are held every other year. The speaker in ’07 was former Georgia Gov. Zell Miller.
Nationwide, Parker shares her story and policy suggestions through college and church lectures, community outreaches and conferences for inner-city pastors. She has hosted radio talk shows in Christian and secular markets, and is a regular guest columnist for USA Today.
She spoke at the 1996 Republican National Convention and co-produced a documentary on welfare reform with the BBC in London. Her personal transformation from someone on welfare to conservative crusader has been chronicled by ABC’s 20/20; Rush Limbaugh; Readers Digest; James Dobson; The 700 Club; Dr. George Grant; the Washington Times; Christianity Today; Charisma; and World Magazine.
She has three books to her name: “White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay” (2006); “Uncle Sam’s Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America’s Poor and What We Can Do About It” (2003); and “Pimps, Whores and Welfare Brats: From Welfare Cheat to Conservative Messenger” (1998).
The musical guest at the event will be Eddie Middleton, one of the original NewSong members.
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