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Opportunities Industrial Centers
June 10-14, 1979 — Sheraton Carlton Hotel, Wash., D.C.


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[[caption]] The Reverend O. Pressley, Executive Director Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc., of New York [[/caption]]

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[[caption]] The Reverend Dr. Leon H. Sullivan, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Opportunities Industrialization Center of America [[/caption]]

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[[caption]] The Reverend Dr. Milton A. Galamison, Chairman of the Board Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc., of New York [[/caption]]

The O.I.C. Story

"What we have done essentially at OIC is to say to one another, let's work together for the good of the community. We have built a bridge between those who have and those who have not;  those who are skilled and those who are unskilled; those who are white and those who are black. This the American way." These provocative words from a reknowned Black American church and civic leader, Dr. Leon H. Sullivan, speak to the very essence of the philosophy of OIC. Begun as a self-help program in the basement of a Philadelphia church under Dr. Sullivan's inspiring leadership, the OIC structure emerged in 1964 as an organization sponsoring vocational and prevocational training. It was designed to effect a total community change by implementing a bold program to provide economic security for those in need. While OIC is a program for all people, its historic success has been most notable in the minority community. Thus, the primary aim of OIC is to place emphasis on job training and subsequent placement in the hard-core community where unemployment and underemployment run rampant.

HISTORY OF NEW YORK OIC

In 1967, realizing that Brooklyn's Dr. Milton A. Galamison had national prominence and stature, and had a history of commitment to change, Dr. Sullivan persuaded Dr. Galamison to provide the leadership to bring OIC to New York City. Under the capable guidance of the Executive Director, Reverend Calvin O. Pressley, New York City became the 25th OIC affiliate.

In its infancy, the New York OIC was housed in a storefront in Brooklyn's impoverished Bedford-Stuyvesant community, since that time it has emerged as a manpower training program specializing in pre-vocational and a range of diverse vocational training programs. OIC/NY serves the young, the old, males and females in 

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