Blacks Are Lacking a Vision - Urban League Conference

Last week’s Urban League conference in St. Louis highlighted some of the serious issues that blacks face today with the main focus being how to expand opportunities for black Americans.

A recurring theme was the need for blacks who have made it to reach down and help pull their struggling brothers and sisters up. There were warnings to young black professionals to avoid a "narcissistic" temptation to only focus on their own personal gain without concern for the less fortunate. A Princeton University professor chided the "post-Soul" generation for having a "vision deficit." The Rev. Jesse Jackson pointed out the inequities of urban life saying, "urban America is like a donut, and the people on the ring have summer school and jobs and camping and horseback riding. The people in the hole don't, and it's obvious what the result will be."

The Urban League released a 10-point "Opportunity Compact" that combines many longtime goals: mandatory pre-school education, tax-free savings accounts for home down payments, expanded education for ex-offenders and alliances between big corporations and minority-owned businesses. The hope is our presidential candidates will use the compact as a checklist for their own policy pronouncements.

Jeff Johnson, a host for BET, called for blacks to become more involved in their schools. "I am not mad at integrated schools. I'm mad at integrated schools with no black parents at PTA meetings," Johnson said. "If our homes don't do their jobs, the police will. If our schools don't do their jobs, the jails will."

Many of us have reached levels of success that generations before us could never have imagined but are we turning our backs on those of us in need? The Urban League believes that with a strong vision we all can do better.

BTW: While Democratic presidential hopefuls, Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Kucinich all managed to not only show up but to also address the 10,000 attendees with their individual ideas on increasing opportunities for blacks, not a single Republican candidate showed up…