For the first time since President Obama took office, a group of African American civil rights leaders presented President Obama with a formal agenda.
The document, first entitled Towards a New Civil Rights Movement for Economic Empowerment and Justice, is now called 1963-2013: 21st Century Agenda for Jobs and Freedom, has been two years in the making. The first meeting on the report, which would become a formal “black agenda,” was led by National Urban League (NUL) President Marc Morial and took place on December 3, 2012.
A second meeting was held on January 25, 2013. Over 60 civil rights activists, academics and elected officials contributed to creating the document which includes agenda items such as opposing mandatory minimum sentencing to the Urban Jobs Act authored by Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). The agenda can be seen on NUL’s site here.
The initial version of the agenda was first introduced publicly in August 2013 during the week commemorating the 5oth anniversary of the March on Washington. Today was the first time the document was presented at the White House to President Obama.
Five urgent goals were listed in the agenda presented by Morial to the President today:
- Achieve Economic Parity for African-Americans
- Promote Equity in Educational Opportunity
- Protect and Defend Voting Rights
- Promote a Healthier Nation by Eliminating Healthcare Disparities
- Achieve Comprehensive Criminal Justice System Reform
“We talked extensively about the challenges of unemployment, the challenges of under-employment, the challenges of black and urban and brown unemployment in this nation,” Morial said as he left the White House today.
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