"Heritage Banquet" sponsored by the NAACP

Dinner is served at 6:00 pm in the Civic Center. Speaker for the evning is Shawn P. Williams. Shawn launched the nationally acclaimed and highly recognized DallasSouthBlog.com in June of 2006. In 2008, Dallas South was one of a select number of blogs nationwide to be awarded credentials for the Democratic National Convention. The website has been featured on NBC Nightly News, The Chicago Tribune, CNN, NPR, BBC and many other national outlets. In June2009, Shawn helped to organize Dallas South News, a nonprofit news organization that utilizes technology, social media, and journalistic principles to empower and inform underserved communities. He serves as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the hyperlocal news website that focuses on Southern Dallas. In 2010, Shawn received the Austin American-Statesman's Texas Social Media Awards which recognized the Top 25 social media users in the state. He is a gues columnist for the Dallas Morning News and has written articles for D Magazine. Shawn formerly provided monthly commentary for WFAA Channel 8's Inside Texas Politocs and contributed to the weekly news segment on Reporters Roundtable with Cheryl Smith. In 2011, Shawn was named to the national advisory board of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. He published his first book Blogging While Black in November of last year and is a panelist for the 2012 South By Southwest Interactive Conference.