Los Angeles (August 5) -- Seven high school students of diverse backgrounds participating in the "Democracy in Action" program at the new National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (National Center), who call themselves Student Advocates for the Mentally Disabled (SAMD), are organizing an awareness concert on Thursday, August 18, 2005, on the Plaza adjacent to the Japanese American National Museum and the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, located at 369 East First Street in Little Tokyo. The free concert is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. SAMD hopes that their concert, "Rock 'n' Rights: Rockin' for the Mentally Disabled," will generate awareness for the neglected and marginalized population.

Sponsored by the National Center, "Democracy in Action" is a six-week program that provides an alternative classroom setting in which students develop leadership skills that they need to be active participants in the democratic process. The program brings together a diverse group of youth to collaborate and produce a civic action project. The seven students are from Mark Keppel, Crenshaw, Palos Verdes, Manual Arts, and Cabrillo High Schools. After much research, the students collectively decided to build their civic action project around issues that affect the developmentally challenged.

"We seek to educate, stimulate, and mobilize the community against the injustices experienced by the mentally disabled in the areas of education, job discrimination, and criminal justice," says Student Advocate Jennifer Phung.

SAMD is holding the benefit concert in partnership with Lamp Community, a non-profit organization providing housing, health recovery and job training to homeless men and women with serious mental illness. Donations of personal hygiene items, canned foods, phone cards, clothes, shoes, bedding, books, etc. will be collected at the concert in support of Lamp Community.

The concert's line up includes East L.A. favorites Ollin with their world punk sound, and Old Souls, a rock 'n' roll band made up of elementary-age students. Also performing will be Tangklang Dance Crew, an experimental break dance troupe. State and local officials along with advocates for the developmentally disabled have been invited to speak. Representatives of Assemblywoman Judy Chu will be in attendance.

Opening October 29, 2005, the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy is an educational institution that provides tools for living democratically in a diverse American society. Partnering with educators and community-based mentors, the National Center works to inspire youth to be active, informed participants in shaping democracy in America.