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National Urban League is 75 Years Old...

National Convention
July 21-24
Washington Sheraton Hotel
Washington, D.C.

"State of Black America-1985"
Cities Strengths
Washington, D.C. - Calling on President Reagan to take "a handful of small steps that could begin to heal the breach between his Administration and black people," and citing "signs in 1984 of a new spirit in America that refuses to accept the prospect of a nation divided between a prosperous majority and impoverished minority," John E. Jacob, President of the National Urban League, today released the NUL's annual assessment of the status of blacks, "The State of Black America-1985."
The release of the report marked the tenth year that the National Urban League has brought together a group of outstanding scholars to assess and analyze the important events, in a number of specific areas, that took place in Black America over the period of a year. This year's document includes the following papers:
"The Phenomenon of the Jesse Jackson Candidacy and the 1984 Presidential Election," Dr. Charles V. Hamilton, Columbia University; "Modern Technology and Urban Schools," Dr. Robert E. Fullilove, University of California at Berkeley; "Blackening in Media; The State of Blacks in the Press," Dr. Samuel L. Adams, University of Kansas; "Aged Black Americans: Double Jeopardy Re-examined," Dr. Jacquelyne Johnson Jackson, Duke University Medical Center; "Blacks in the U.S. Labor Movement: Working or Not?" Dr. Lenneal J. Henderson, Howard University; "The Black Family Today and Tomorrow," Dr. James D. McGhee, NUL Director of Research; "The Potentials and Problems of Black Financial Institutions," Dr. William D. Bradford, University of Maryland.
In his overall assessment of the status of blacks, Mr. Jacob concluded:
"We would suggest that the strongest message coming out of Black America in 1984 was that it became increasingly aware of its own strengths and increasingly willing to act independently to achieve what it considers its own best interests.
"This does not signal any lessening of the responsibility of government or the private sector to assist in the building of a Black America that is equal in every respect to the other sectors of our society. But it does signal that Black America is not standing still waiting for others to come to its rescue. It recognizes that its salvation lies within itself."
Expressing the hope that "this second Reagan Administration will be more forthcoming in reaching out of black and poor Americans," Mr. Jacob listed a
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