Detroit -- March 2, 2005 -- Rev. Wendell Anthony, Founder and Chairman of the Freedom Institute, announced the appointment of Mr. Richard Golden, President and CEO of D.O.C Optics Corporation, as corporate chair for Freedom Weekend IV. The announcement was made yesterday at D.O.C's northwest Detroit offices, where Mr. Golden presented Rev. Anthony with a check for $100,000 for Freedom Weekend. 

According to Maryann Lee, Executive Director for the Freedom Institute, Freedom Weekend IV is a 3-day event schedule for April 28 through 30, 2005. It will include health, business, and homeownership expos, public policy forums, a national town hall meeting, religious leaders' breakfast, art fair, gallery crawl, and hip-hop forum as well as a film festival and concerts. 
 
Mr. Golden, the highly visible spokesman for D.O.C, is a current or past board member of many metro area community organizations, including Hospice of Michigan, the Detroit Institute for Children, Aurora Healthcare, and Gilda's Club.  D.O.C, the nation’s eighth largest optical chain with 100 stores in six markets, celebrates its 58th Anniversary this year.  

Mr. Golden said that he was proud to be selected as corporate chair, “Freedom Weekend is really about empowering people, and that’s a concept we can all support. We're bringing together information and resources that people need in order to make better decisions about their lives.” 

Rev. Anthony described Freedom Weekend IV as a weekend of edutainment and an essential event. “Never have so many in our community been in greater need for self and collective empowerment. Freedom Weekend IV will address some of our most critical concerns regarding the quality of our lives.”

 The Freedom Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit African American think tank that brings together public policy makers and activists from around the country to educate the public about issues that impact the health, education, and welfare of African Americans and to make policy recommendations about those issues. 
 
The event is open to the public, for more information phone 313-533-5053 or log onto www.freeinst.org.  Exhibit space and sponsorship opportunities are available.

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