Contact: Jasmine Walden, 908-370-5196

DALLAS, Jan. 12, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- While the nation remembers Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, 50 years after his assassination, former Civil Rights Activist Rev. Dr. DeForest B. Soaries, Jr. will close out the Urban Specialists MLK Day "Course Correction Conversation" event in Dallas by calling for a new leadership that unifies our nation one neighborhood at a time.

This historic event will bring together victims of violence, public figures, lawmakers and the community for an honest, open discussion about the widening divides in America and how we can reunify our country.

"This event exemplifies what Dr. King's legacy is all about. This movement is so imperative to the African American community because Urban Specialists and Bishop Omar Jahwar are fighting to make just as much an impact, if not greater, on senseless violence as Dr. King did for equality and social justice. Fifty years later, our number one problem is violence," says Rev. Soaries, former national coordinator of Operation PUSH. "Those who are most effective in stopping violence are those who once inflicted violence, working with locked arms along side of those that have been victims of violence." Soaries plans to commend the anti-violence leaders for the work they are doing in Dallas, New York, Chicago, Baton Rouge, Baltimore, Atlanta and Indianapolis that will attend this event. He will liken them to the local 1960's leaders that were peers and colleagues in the Civil Rights Movement.

Urban Specialists (US) leverages the experience of ex-gang members, former offenders, and professionals to reduce gang violence and increase community opportunities in Dallas. Sponsored by Stand Together, this event will provide a safe environment for dialogue in hopes of ending senseless violence and revitalizing citizenship in spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Healing begins when we stop shouting at each other and start listening to each other," said Bishop Omar Jahwar, Founder and CEO of Urban Specialists. "I have learned through my work and experience, it is possible for youth to stay alive and thrive in a hostile environment."

Rev. Soaries will be the close out speaker of the event. Also participating in the "Course Correction Conversation" will be former NFL player and Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and singer, songwriter and producer Rico Love. The family of the late Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, who was shot several times at close range while held down on the ground by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana will also attend the event.

For more information and free tickets, please visit urbanspecialists.org.