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"OPENING ReMARCs"
A weekly newsletter from Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League
From the President's Desk
INDIANA JOBS TOUR
This week I will be visiting Urban League Affiliates in Indiana as part of a national “jobs tour” to promote the League’s 12-Point Jobs Rebuild America Plan and dialogue with community members. The people of Indiana are struggling through this unemployment crisis, and I'm looking forward to a productive dialogue about how we can advocate, on the local and national level, for policies that address the communities most affected and help put Urban America back to work.
Introduced earlier this year, the Jobs Rebuild America Plan offers a dozen dynamic and imaginative measures to both rescue those most profoundly affected by the ongoing economic emergency, while also remedying many of the underlying causes behind the recession’s inordinate and seemingly-amplified impact on the communities served by Urban League affiliates. The plan can be found here.
I'm especially proud to be partnering on this tour with the CEOs of the four affiliates I'll be visiting: Joseph A. Slash, of the Indianapolis Urban League, William Raymore of the Urban League of Wayne County, Jonathan Ray of the Fort Wayne Urban League and Vanessa Allen of the Urban League of Northwest Indiana.
Among the scheduled events are:
- An address to the prestigious Economic Club of Indiana at noon, Feb. 23, at the Indiana Convention Center 100 South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis.
- A breakfast forum at 9 a.m. Thursday, February 24, at the Flagship Technology Center, 2701 Enterprise Drive, Anderson.
- A news conference at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 in the John and Ruth Rhinehart Music Center, Room 235, at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, 2101 East Coliseum Boulevard, Fort Wayne.
- A community forum at 6:30 p.m. in the university’s Auer Reception Hall.
- An address to a community luncheon at Chateau Banquet Hall, 530 West 61st Avenue, Merrillville, at 11:30 a.m. Friday, February 25.
You can follow our tour on Twitter - follow @NatUrbanLeague to get the latest information.
To Be Equal
The Growth of Black-Owned Businesses: Entrepreneurship by Necessity
There is a silver lining in the dark cloud of the great recession. A new Census Bureau report reveals that from 2002 to 2007 the number of Black-owned businesses in the United States increased by 60.5 percent to 1.9 million – more than triple the national rate. According to Census Bureau Deputy Director, Thomas Mesenbourg, “Black-owned businesses continued to be one of the fastest growing segments of our economy, showing rapid growth in both the number of businesses and total sales during this time period.” The reasons for this are many, beginning with the long history of African American entrepreneurship in response to poverty, high unemployment and discrimination.
To read the full column, click here.
From The Road:
It was a special privilege to deliver the keynote address at the ACLU Foundation of Louisiana's 35th Annual Ben Smith Award ceremony last week, where restaurater and civil rights leader Leah Chase was honored. While Chase is best known for her family's restaurant, Dooky Chase, she and her husband played a major role in the civil rights struggles of the '60s. The Chases risked arrest and the lost of their livelihood by opening their restaurant for civil rights meetings. Her bravery is an inspiration and I was proud to participate in a well-deserved tribute.
Coming Up:
Legislative Policy Conference and State of Black America
Washington D.C. will be the site of the National Urban League’s Legislative Policy Conference, March 29-31, and the release of the much-anticipated 2011 State of Black America report. This year's report will be unveiled at an exciting and dynamic town hall-style panel discussion at Howard University on March 31. The town hall is free and open to the public - Save the Date! March 31st, 10am-12:30pm at Howard University's Cramton Auditorium. As the National Urban League and the Urban League movement intensifies the focus on advocacy for the unemployed and for federal policies that will stimulate growth, this informative and productive event is expected to draw attention and stimulate a national dialogue.
Jobs Rebuild America Boston 2011
Registration is now open for the National Urban League's 2011 Annual Conference: "Jobs Rebuild America," in Boston, Massachusetts, July 27th - 30th. Click here for more information.
History In Your Hands
There is still time available to order your copy of “Empowering Communities. Changing Lives…100 Years of the National Urban League and Black America: 1910-2010,” a limited-edition coffee table book chronicling the Urban League Movement's first century. Click here to order your copy now.
