A portrait of the late U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, done by an African-American artist, will be unveiled Wednesday in Washington's Capitol Hill Club.

The unveiling of the painting by Rene Dickerson is expected to bring together Helms friends and admirers, including Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, U.S. Reps. Virginia Foxx, Patrick McHenry and Sue Myrick. Former U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns will act as master of ceremonies. Dot Helms, the senator's widow, will be on hand.

The choice of artist could generate a buzz at the event, reports Rob Christensen.

Helms opposed every piece of civil rights legislation while serving in Congress and he was a major critic of the civil rights movement while he was a Raleigh television commentator.

Not only is Dickerson an African-American, but his work is not traditional portraituture. The California native cites as his inspiration such artists as Van Gogh, Picasso, Dali, Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.

Dickerson's work is featured in the private collections of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby and former Motown president Berry Gordy.

The portrait is being sponsored by the Jesse Helms Center in Monroe and by Brian Summers, a former Helms staffer, who has ties to Motown and Gordy.

The portrait will remain in the Capitol Hill Club, which has served as a social club for Republicans since 1951. It is located next door to the Republican National Committee and two blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

There was a sea of fans Tuesday night, all with the same logo: a picture of a pair of hands and the slogan "Hands off My Health Care."

That was the scene at at dinner at the RBC Center, meant to generate opposition to efforts by President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats to overhaul the nation’s health care system, Rob Christensen reports.

About 350 people packed into a club room for a buffet of Mexican food, and to hear speeches and videos in which Obama’s health care proposals were portrayed as similar to nationalized health care plans in England and Canada.

Americans can expect long lines to see doctors or to get surgeries, and government bureaucrats telling them what medications they can receive, according to the portrayals.

"Politicians want to control who lives and who dies," said Dallas Woodhouse, the head of state chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a Raleigh-based conservative advocacy group.

More after the jump.

Correction: Post originally misstated when the rally was held.

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Jesse Helms' granddaughter will join a board at the college that holds his papers.

Wake County District Court Judge Jennifer J. Knox will join the board of visitors at Wingate University in Union County.

The university is home to the Jesse Helms Center, a nonpartisan foundation that promotes the free enterprise system and American values.

Knox graduated from Wingate in 1996 with a major in history and was a member of the women's basketball team. She later went to UNC-Chapel Hill for law school.

The 67-member board is made up of successful alumni and others who are "committed to the growth and development of the University."

The Jesse Helms Center will honor Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

During its 20th anniversary celebration in Cary Friday, the center will present Scalia with the James W. Nance Medal of Freedom.

The award is given each year to an individual in government who best exemplifies a devotion to public service and "protection of the nation's foundational values." 

The award is named for Helms' lifelong friend, chief of staff and retired Navy Rear Admiral James "Bud" Nance." Previous recipients include U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The center will also induct five new members into its Free Enterprise Hall of Fame: John W. Pope. A.E. Finley, Ed Morris, Roger Milliken and T. Boone Pickens.

The center, a nonprofit based in Wingate, is named for former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. 

Fred Barnes, executive editor of “The Weekly Standard” and a frequent TV commentator, will deliver the lecture at the Founders Day Celebration at the Jesse Helms Center.

Barnes will speak at the Wingate University campus at 2 p.m. next Thursday.