A tribute to John W. Mack Urban League president.

GOVERNOR Arnold Schwarzenegger was there. So were the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr., singer Nancy Wilson, LAPD Chief William Bratton, LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer, financial institution executives, elected officials, educators, members of the clergy, civil rights leaders from across the country and promising young entrepreneurs.

They were part of an immensely diverse group of 1,600 people who came together just over a week ago to pay tribute to a man widely known as the consummate bridge builder, who has at some point touched each of their lives in a meaningful, special way. His name is John Mack, retiring President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League after 36 years of service to that well-respected and thriving organization, and he was being honored by his colleagues, associates, business partners, family and, quite frankly, his fans.

A Tribute To John W. Mack

"There is no more appropriate or well-deserving person for us to honor than John W. Mack," said Los Angeles Urban League Chairman of the Board Gregory Jones, who served as chair of the Los Angeles Urban League's 32nd annual Whitney M. Young gala dinner. "Mr. Mack has provided unmatched vision, leadership, passion, wisdom, commitment and strength of character over all these years. He has served as an outstanding role model not only to those individuals who participate in Los Angeles Urban League programs, but to the rest of us in the community as well. His quiet dignity, solid convictions, and intense integrity have opened doors of opportunity for hundreds of thousands of African Americans and other people of color. It is with both sadness and enthusiasm that we mark his retirement this year and pay tribute to this great, great man."

John W. Mack, who will officially retire in July, has served as President of the Los Angeles Urban League since August of 1969. Mack began his career with the Urban League in Flint, Michigan in 1964 and was appointed Executive Director in 1965. Prior to heading the Los Angeles Urban League, he served on the Urban League's National staff for six months during the Whitney Young era in Washington, D.C. Mack was a leader in the 1960 student civil rights movement in Atlanta--and CoFounder and Vice Chairperson of the Committee on the Appeal for Human Rights.. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Sociology from North Carolina A&T State University. He holds a Master's Degree from Clark Atlanta University.

Under his leadership, the Los Angeles Urban League has become one of the most successful non-profit community organizations in Los Angeles with an annual budget of $25 million. The Los Angeles Urban League serves over 100,000 individuals each year and operates a number of innovative, result-oriented job training, job placement, education, academic tutorial, youth achievement and business development programs serving African-Americans and other people of color utilizing state of the art computer technology preparing League constituents for the 21st Century.

Mack is a highly respected advocate for equal opportunities in education, law enforcement and economic empowerment for African-Americans and other minorities--and a bridge builder across all racial, cultural, economic, gender and religious lines. He currently sits as a board member of such organizations as United Way, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, California Institute of Technology, Town Hall, RAND Graduate School, and the Los Angeles County Workforce Investment Act Board (WIB).

Mack has received awards over the years from such groups as the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, NAACP, Operation Hope, the American Jewish Committee, the Magic Johnson Foundation, Clark Atlanta University, the Southern Christian Leadership Council, and the National Urban League. In 1993, he was a recipient of the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award from the Los Angeles Urban League, and in 1998, Mack was afforded the unique opportunity to serve as a teaching Fellow in Residence at the prestigious Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics.

"Many people call John Mack a civil rights icon, a change agent, an economic empowerment leader," recently said the Rev. Cecil "Chip" Murray, Senior Pastor (ret.), of the First AME Church in Los Angeles, who has worked closely with Mack for decades. "He is all those things and more. I proudly also identify him as a loving father, grandfather and husband, an outstanding role model, a tireless mentor, a committed public servant and, quite simply, a brother and loyal friend."

"When we think of the civil rights pioneers, the leaders who blazed the trails, we think of people like John Mack, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, Vernon Jordan, Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. Whitney Young, among others. Through our work, through the partnerships and bridges that we have built, we have made great strides in strengthening the social and economic fabric of our community."

But there is a promise of a better tomorrow that continues to nourish our community today. John Mack helped create that promise. John Mack helped to develop the opportunities that nourish. I have no doubt that in his "retirement," John will continue to keep his eye on the ball, his heart open and his finger on the pulse. Because of John Mack, there truly is hope of a better tomorrow," Rev. Murray added.

That hope for tomorrow is perhaps best embodied by the future leaders of Los Angeles, such as Mauricia Grant, the first African American woman to work as a pit crew member for NASCAR.

Grant is a recent graduate of the Los Angeles Urban League's Automotive Training Center and in great part credits John Mack with her success. "The LAUUs Automotive Training Center helped me reach my goal by providing me with the tools I needed--critical training, important self esteem, and my internship as a tech inspector at the Irwindale Speedway, which propelled me into my current position with NASCAR."

Grant went on to add, "John Mack would be the first one to say that he is not solely responsible for the lives changed by the work of the LAUL. But he is the inspiration, the heart and soul of this special organization. And through young people like me realizing their dreams, going on to be prosperous and live in a new socioeconomic status, his influence will live on and on."

The Legacy of John W. Mack

THE legacy of John W. Mack is legendary. He has served as President of the Los Angeles Urban League since August of 1969. Mack began his career with the Urban League in Flint, Michigan in 1964 and was appointed Executive Director in 1965. Prior to heading the Los Angeles Urban League, he served on the Urban League's National staff for six months during the Whitney Young era in Washington, D.C. Mack was a leader in the 1960 student civil rights movement in Atlanta--and Co-Founder and Vice Chairperson of the Committee on the Appeal for Human Rights. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Sociology from North Carolina A&T State University. He holds a Master's Degree from Clark Atlanta University.

Under his leadership, the Los Angeles Urban League has become one of the most successful non-profit community organizations in Los Angeles with an annual budget of $25 million. The Los Angeles Urban League serves over 100,000 individuals each year and operates a number of innovative, result-oriented job training, job placement, education, academic tutorial, youth achievement and business development programs serving African-Americans and other people of color utilizing state of the art computer technology preparing League constituents for the 21st Century. In 1997, United Way presented its Agency of the Year Award to the Los Angeles Urban League.

Mack is a highly respected advocate for equal opportunities in education, law enforcement and economic empowerment for African-Americans and other minorities--and a bridge builder across all racial, cultural, economic, gender and religious lines.

Mack was afforded the unique opportunity to serve as a teaching Fellow in Residence at the prestigious Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government's Institute of Politics from September through December, 1998. He led a Study Group of Harvard University undergraduate students entitled "The Future of Urban America: Finding Solutions Through Strategic Partnership and Policy Advocacy."

ORGANIZATIONS/AFFILIATIONS

Board Member of United Way

Board Member of Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Board Member of The California Institute of Technology Board of Trustees

Board Member of Town Hall Board of Governors

Board Member of RAND Graduate School Board of Governors

Board Member of Los Angeles County Workforce Investment Act Board (WIB)

Member of Wells Fargo Bank Community Board

Member of State Farm Bank Advisory Committee

Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

AWARDS

1992    Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity's Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights
        Award
1993    Los Angeles Urban League's Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award
        recipient
1993    Jewish Federation Council Community Relations Committee's
        prestigious Hollzer Memorial Award
1997    NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Black Women of
        Achievement's Special Recognition Award
2000    National Urban League "Legend of the Century" Honoree
2000    Presented Los Angeles NAACP's "Lifetime Achievement Award"
2000    Presented Clark Atlanta University Whitney M. Young, Jr.
        School of Social Work "Whitney M. Young, Jr. Distinguished
        Alumnus Award"
2001    The New Leaders "Lifetime of Giving" Achievement Award"
2001    Operation Hope "Living Legend Award"
2003    American Jewish Committee's first C.I. Newman Lifetime
        Achievement Award
2004    Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Martin Luther
        King, Jr. President's Award
2004    NCCJ Lifetime Achievement Award
2004    The Magic Johnson Foundation Humanitarian Spirit Award

Mack and his wife Harriett have a son, Anthony, and two daughters, Deborah and Andria; daughter-in-law Teresa, two grandsons, Anthony Brian, II and Gabriel John Wesley, and a granddaughter, Gianna Marie.