By Marc H. Morial (To Be Equal #32) – The great recession was officially declared over in 2009, but the events of the last few weeks make it clear that while Wall Street and big business may be coming back, the economic recovery has remained out of reach for millions of Americans. Last week, in […]
National Urban League’s Boston Conference Urges President and Congress to Refocus National Debate on Jobs
By Marc H. Morial (To Be Equal #31) – The National Urban League concluded the first conference of its second century of service and economic empowerment this past Saturday in Boston. By all accounts, this was one of the most successful gatherings in the organization’s 101-year history. Thousands of citizens from across the country came […]
National Urban League Affiliates Serve 2.6 Million Americans in 2010
By Marc H. Morial (To Be Equal #29) – As depression-era unemployment rates and a shrinking social safety net continue to plague urban America, the annual National Urban League census reveals that the organization’s 98 community-based affiliates served a record 2.6 million Americans in 2010 – a 25 percent increase over 2009. Last year the […]
Open Letter To Tom Joyner RE: Tavis Smiley and Cornell West
By Raynard Jackson – I have known Tom Joyner (nationally syndicated radio host) for many years. We are not hanging out buddies, but we have always enjoyed talking and joking with each other. He is an “old school” soul who has done a lot of good in his life. But, in recent years, his very […]
Chenault and Immelt Push Jobs – by Marc H. Morial
(To Be Equal#25) “Our job is to do everything we can to ensure that businesses can take root and folks can find good jobs and America is leading the global competition that will determine our success in the 21st century.” President Barack Obama Last week, in Raleigh-Durham, the heart of North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, […]
Proposed Mortgage Qualification Rule May End Homeownership As We Know It
Marc H. Morial (To Be Equal#23) – Homeownership, as we know it, could be a thing of the past if a proposed Qualified Residential Mortgage Rule (QRM) takes effect. In a letter I sent last week to the heads of the six federal agencies charged with developing risk retention regulations under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street […]
BEEP Prepares African American College Students for Jobs in Corporate America
By Marc H. Morial (To Be Equal #24) – Last week, June 8-11, more than 450 attendees, including 132 HBCU students, came together in Orlando, Florida for the National Urban League’s 42nd annual Black Executive Exchange Program (BEEP) Leadership Conference. BEEP, the National Urban League’s longest running direct service program, is a partnership involving the […]
National Urban League: Withdraw Proposed Mortgage Qualification Rule
New York – Proposed changes to mortgage qualification standards are bad policy and should be rejected, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said today in a letter to the six agencies charged with developing new regulations. “A Rule that stifles homeownership for communities of color will also negatively suppress the entire housing […]
New England “99ers” Need Unemployment Help and Jobs
Marc H. Morial (To Be Equal#21) – “It’s been tough. Very tough. I’m figuring I’m not getting any job. I have no experience, and I can’t get any experience without getting any jobs.” 23-year-old Darrell Davis of Springfield, MA Darrell Davis is just one of hundreds of discouraged, long-term unemployed people we met during last […]