National Urban League Urges Support For The 40th Anniversary Of The March On Washington.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2003 National Urban League President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Marc H. Morial today announced the League's support and recommitment to the fight for equality and economic opportunity for all citizens as part of the commemoration of 40th anniversary of the historic March on Washington that will be observed this weekend. Beginning on Friday, August 22 with a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the 40th anniversary will also feature a series of special events, including two National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality sponsored "Teach-Ins" on criminal and economic justice. Dr. William Spriggs, Executive Director of the National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality will be a featured speaker at the Economic Justice Teach-In and James Lanier, Senior Resident Scholar for the National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality will participate in the Criminal Justice Teach-In. Both Teach-Ins will take place on the Washington Mall, adjacent to the Reflecting Pool. During the "Teach-Ins", the National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality will distribute a copy of its comprehensive African American Fact Book. Using a series of charts and graphs, the Fact Book depicts the many changes African Americans have experienced since the 1963 March on Washington, and the many things that have remained the same. Topics covered include civil rights, criminal justice, civil liberties, jobs and education. "In 1963, The National Urban League played an instrumental role in the planning of the March of Washington. Its visionary president, Whitney M. Young, Jr., spoke about the issues of joblessness, equal opportunity, and the lack of access to education and affordable housing for African Americans," Mr. Morial said. "Although we have made much progress, an equality gap still persists in America today and we must recommit and re-dedicate ourselves to the fight for equality and economic opportunity that brought hundreds of thousands of Americans of all races, ages and faiths to march forty years ago." Led by civil rights leaders Below is a list of civil rights leaders:
AFL-CIO in full American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations U.S. ; Whitney M. Young, Jr., president of the National Urban League; Roy Wilkins, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organization composed mainly of American blacks, but with many white members, whose goal is the end of racial discrimination and segregation. (NAACP NAACP in full National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Oldest and largest U.S. civil rights organization. It was founded in 1909 to secure political, educational, social, and economic equality for African Americans; W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. ); James Farmer, founder and president of the Congress of Racial Equality Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), civil-rights organization founded (1942) in Chicago by James Farmer. Dedicated to the use of nonviolent direct action, CORE initially sought to promote better race relations and end racial discrimination in the United States. (CORE); John Lewis, president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (or SNCC, pronounced "snick") was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. (SNCC); and Martin Luther King Jr. founder and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), civil-rights organization founded in 1957 by Martin Luther King, Jr., and headed by him until his assassination in 1968. (SCLC)--the August 28, 1963 March on Washington attracted an estimated 250,000 people for a peaceful demonstration to promote Civil Rights and economic equality for African Americans. Some forty years later, the National Urban League remains committed to empowering and helping African Americans achieve economic parity and closing the equality gap in education, health, housing and employment, through advocacy, community based programs and research. This weekend's 40th Anniversary events kick off a 15-month campaign leading up to the 2004 elections. Other activities during this period will include voter registration rallies across the nation beginning on January 19, 2004 (Dr. King's birthday); the 40th Anniversary Circle of Light and Truth Demonstration during the President's State of the Union (Jan 20, 2004); Mobilization Conclaves and Presentations at Democratic and Republican Conventions (June & July 2004); and a 40th Anniversary March on Ballot Boxes in Every Voting Precinct in America (Tuesday, Nov. 2nd, 2004). The Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest community-based movement empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream. The National Urban League, headquartered in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , spearheads the nonprofit, nonpartisan movement, while Urban League affiliates operate in more than 100 cities in 34 states and the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). . Visit the League on the Web at www.nul.org. |
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