l the north of mexico, very important. you reimplement title 42, you have several muscular 212, that's the few of those in the trump administration, you would bring those back and add new ones on top of that. a large scale staging ground for removal flights. you grab illegal immigrants and move them to the staging grounds and the planes are waiting for federal law enforcement to move those illegals home, deputize the national guard to carry out immigration enforcement and deploy the military to the southern just with a mission to observe, but with impedence, the constitutional principle you don't have a right to enter into our sovereign territory to request th ay has a right to establish a fortress position on the border and say no one can cross here at all.

[applause] >> i'd like -- significance, steven, what you just said in all the things you just laid out we've got to have a president to do it, but also, you can't-- >> you can finish watching on our website, c-span.org, we leave it to take to you a discussion on civil rights at the national empowerment summit in washington d.c. you're watching live coverage on c-span2. >> 2024 empowerment summit and the release of this year's state of black america report. before we begin our program, i would like to open with a short prayer. will you bow your heads? >> father, we thank you for that day and as together, god, we humbly seek your presence. grant us clarity of mind and

vision that we may see beyond challenges and seek solutions to empower, to uplift, and to root outjustice everywhere. bless us with insight and inspiration to tip the work ahead. we offer thanks f■(or the opportunities before us, and trust in your divine guidance and it's in your name we play and let everyone say, amen. amen. doesn't that feel good? amen. so welcome again to our open plenary of the state of black america which we have entitled essential and /@endangered call to action to protect and expand the civil rights act. and if that language■qvokes a sense of urgency, the meaning is 100% intentional. ■:

the 1964 civil rights act is perhaps the most impactful and significant u.s. legislation to become l in the 20th century. for 60 years, the law and its protections advanced the cause of equality, a a protection against discrimination. but in 2024, the civil rights act is under imminen duress by extremists and federal and state legislators and among our judiciary. the urban league movement has come to washington d.c. to declare this day in no uncertain terms, watch. not on our watch. now, in a few moments, our president and ceo, will present the urban league state of black

america report and specifically our new campaign to protect and expand the civil rights act and american democracy itself. but first, i want to t urban le around the country who are joining us here in d.c. and those of you who are joining us via live stream. give yourselves a round of applause. [applause] >> that's a little weak. i said give yourselves a round of applause. far and near to be with us and we are so grateful for it. [applause] >> your passion and engagement has never been more important. to thank our friends and justice partners in congress, we appreciate your commitment to preserving the integrity of the civil rights act and broadening its protections. we look forward to collaborating with you to set america's focus b equality and democracy. but to start things off, i'd like to invite george lambert, the president and ceo of the

greater washington urban league and our host affiliate ceo to come at this time to bring remarks. put your hands together for our friend and colleague. [applause] >> if i have to use the cane, why not style it, right? >> that's right. okay. all right. so welcome urban leaguers, i'm delighted to be here. i want to be opening up, and welcome to greater washington urban leueo washington d.c., and quite frankly, my city of birth. it's always been an honor for me to serve the urban league movement in my city of birth. i will start by saying to you that the greater washington urban league,1938.

and we responded in 1938 to a clarion call, if you will, to certainly support and assist the african community in terms of navigating the slippery slopes of trying to access federal government jobs. imagine that. the federal government jobs. fast forward, this is 2024. we've done a lot more since then, w still are in the work development space and we've certainly done a lot more since then as well. so, one of the things i want to share with you today is fact that last year in the greater washington league, we served more than 12,000 clients, it's indirect. but 12,000 direct clients. yes, please applaud. [applause] >> iu -- i did have an opportunity to take a peek at the state of black america and guess what?

we're still fighting for the struggle of equality. we're still fighting the struggle of equality. but what i came to say to you, now is not the time to despair over the enormity ofhe burden. now is the time for us to get back in the trenches and stay in the trenches, okay? and mark, it is for you, and rhonda, ises for you, as well frts it's time to get back to defend democracy and i'm soy,ce as well and to defeat poverty. ladies and gentlemen, that is our north okay? that is is our motion. consider yourselves welcome to washington d.c. [applause] >> thank you. let's give our friend george lambert another round of applause, thank you so much.

[applause] acknowledge our state of black america launch event presenting sponsor, venture, global. and now, i would also like to invite our legislative policy conference presenting sponsor to the podium. please welcome from johnson & johnson, the head of government affairs, courtney billington. good morning, and thank you, rhonda. it's a pleasure see all of you year. i had the good fortune of being here last year for the national conference. and there's so much more work to do and i reflect on rhonda's words, as well as george's about what we need to do as we think about this year's conference.

we are here as part of johnson & johnson, to partner with you and recognize thek that you do as national urban leagues. we're working together to make sure that we are fighting the good fight. we're working to make sure that we're advancing social justice and inspiring all of us to go beyond what we feel is possible. you know, and i think about t l conference as it being like the super bowl. you know, you bring together thns of all of the affiliates as you're preparing to think about the policy change that needs to happen. and you saw the halftime ceremony of this year's super bowl? yeah. usher did a great job, didn't he. i think about

usher when he was doing that halftime show and i was thinking about mark. why i thinking about mark when usher was doing that halftime show? [laughter] >> i had the privilege back in november to go to mark's 20th anniversary event and at halftime mark was out on the dance floor doing some moves which i know■ usher stole from mark. [laughter] >> so, mark, thank you for your tremendous leadership the national urban league. i'm delighted to be here representing johnson & johnson as a long time partner with the urleague. our relationship has endured over about a 60-year span and we're so grateful for the leadership of all of yo the leadership of many who have gone before us and i think about many of the leaders within johnson & johnson who were many of our black trail

blazers, many of whom emerged from the national urban league in seats like yours. nancy lane was johnson & johnson's first female vice-president and nancy happened to be black, which was a great thing in our history in our company. harold a former executive director, he was the first black corporate affairs vice-president in johnson & johnson. operations materials manager and buying within our company and when i started with johnson & johnson, this is the role that i filled. so when i thi about those who have gone before us and have done the hard work, i continue to redouble my efforts to make

sure that i'm doing the hard work. and so, as we approach the 6th anniversary of the signing of act of 1964 later in july, it is so important for all of us to celebrate the progress that has on the responsibility to do the work that remains ahead of us. this landmark legislation was achieved through decades of courageous■é■% leadership, and it made a crucial step forward for us in the fight for■9 racial equality unfortunately, all of us know that racism threats the lives of black health care, in the space where i'm at and i work each and every day, it also fuels an insis health

disparities that are undermining the physical and psychological well-being of black ame age. last year, the associated press found that from birth to death black americans fare worse in many measures of health compared to their white counterparts. of us in this ro sadly, this finding was not a surprise. given the significant body of research tha shows black americans have lower life expectancies, and a higher prevalence of serious health conditions, like hypertension, diabetes, dementia, stroke, and cancer than white americans. these jarring statistics underscore just how much systemic racism threatens the black community and our health.

and while we can't undo hundreds of years of bias and discrimination overnight, we can and we must make strides towards progress with bold action, education, and collaboration to drive policy change. very close to close the racial health gap with c solutions and social impact initiatives that address the lack of access to high quality care, health information, and resources in our black communities. in addition to that, we're embedding diversity, equity and inclusion into our company, and its culture. at a time when many people don't want to use the words

diversity, equity, and inclusion. weel efforts of national urban league and the ability for us to partner as a company, the ability that we need to make a healthier future for all. the journalist and civil rights leader ida b. wells said the way that right wrongs is to lig them. as you work together this week, to turn up the light that the national urban league does better than no other organization. thank you for all that you do and have a wonderful

[applause] >> thank you so mu courtney. give him another round of applause. we appreciate your partnership. [applause] >> the national urbane of our s for our mission and the mission continues. mou, are you ready? yes. it's time to take a deep dive into the 2024 state of black america and here to present it is none other than our fearless leader, the national urban league president and ceo, let's give a round of applause for mark h moriel. >> appreciate it, thank you. [applause]. >> thank you. good morning, good morning.

i'm going to take a quick seat. is that okay? yes, i am still working through trying to compete in the nba dunk contest. yeah, next year. i'll be off ir. first of all, thank you very much for joining us this morning. and let's thank rhonda spears bell. >> (applause). >> rhonda spears bell and my long time partner in working in the city of new orleans and u.s. conference of mayors and now at the national urban league, rhonda spears bell is now an elder and she always, always called her evangelist and now, so let's give it up fors bell and a warm thanks for courtney billington and johnson & johnson, i used thets this mo

but most importantly, courtney, i really appreciated you making the connection between many of those earlier the national urban league. and which not only reaffirms our partnership, but reaffirms the role that opening doors to corporate america a long time ago. before it was called diversity,$ equity, and inclusion, and ill he get to that a little later. secondly, i want to welcome, raise your hands, affiliate leaders from across the country, give a wave, give a wave, give a wave and a hand. [applause] >> for those in the audience and those who are watching, this is the heart and the soul of our work. the men and women, highly talented, highly committed, on the ground, in 92 communities across the nation collectively, they're touching three million

people a year with direct services, so, give it up for our affiliate leaders. thank [applause] >> and also, they are supported by a number of volunteer groups, affiliate board members, each affiliate has its own board. any affiliate members in the room, please raise your hand. we want to acknowledge you, we want to thank you so much for being here and for your work as and then, there is the historic national urban league guild, back, a woman molly moon had a vision, and even though we had women executives in the 20's, women were not afforded a full role in the executive work of the urban league movement.

molly moon said we will serve as volunteers and built the guild as a volunteer core of chapter. and raise your hand, i know you're , as president, thank you all very, very much. and then guess what? it's the 25th anniversary of the national urban league young professionals. [applause] >> 25 years, we're 25 years young as the young professionals, but where is sha' shalonda. we're saluting all of our young professionals and we'll have a deep dive in new orleans at our annual conference, we appreciate what they thought, multiples of oufessionals have a

huge difference in the urban league movement. thank you all and we're just starting because we're going to continue to grow. and with us here this morning in the building, maybe some in the we have a number of students for the beat program, business exchange-- are any of the students here or otherwise engained? [applause] >> we have one or two here. and let meemic-- me make sure, we have schools from the dmv they're here from delaware state and morgan state. give it up for those great universities which are making a people. [applause] >> and i want to salute them and thank them and i'll be spending time with them a little later indeed this morning.

it's an honor. always an honor to be able to present the state of black america. and it is always important for people to know what-- what emanated, where did this notion of a report, the state of black america come from? it was 1976. now, we anticipate in a few days the president will give the state of the union address, very important time when we hear from the president of the un blueprint vision and execution for the nation. well, in 1976 when the late great legend, vernon jordan held this position and a person on whose shoulders i ■7 sat down and watched president ford

deliver the early 1976 state of the union listened intently an carefully to president ford. president ford's address f paine of america where there were no black people, a picture of america where no poor people, a picture of america that for the most part ignored the trials and locked o communities. no mention of poverty. no mention of civil rights. no mention ofention of urban am whatsoever. no mention of the raging recession that was taking place in the middle 1970's that were battering. president fordfalse, because it was incomplete --

that i'm going to in effect prepare my own blank report. [laughter] >> you know, you know. that was a choice adjective when our great leader talked, right? and he pulled together a group of scholars, african-american effect print what was a in mimeographed report with both analysis, diagnosis and recommendations on the future of the nation and that was the beginning of the state of black america. and so da to be able to now, for almost,

almost 50 years later, for me to be you our thinking on what is the state of black america suscinctly put the state of black america is not on our watch. not on our watch will we the progress and the games and the very essence of the work that's been done by many generations of americans, many generations of black americans to be eroded by a pernicious, divisive, negative, hateful effort, wills designed tora the last 70 years in american history. so stay with me. the state of black america is strong because we are strong.

[applause] >> the state of black america is pro because we are proud. the state of black america is silient because we can take bumps and bruises and slips and stumbles and falls and putdowns and keep on working. and the state of blackme just a state of black america, it is a comment on the state of the nation. on the state of the union. the challenges that we face are only face. they're faced in broadly in other communities. are disproportionate to our community. so we can't allow anyone to hijack our voice when we speak

about the state of black america, we are speaking about the state of the nation. the nation. say the nation. >> the nation. >> so, this year's reporti7o ha three components to it and if you will, let me sort of walk through these three because i think it's important to understand what we did this year. so, understanding that this represents the iversary since the passage of the civil rights act of 1964. it is important for us to understand that when we talk about all of these issues, we're standing on this foundation of an american magna carta. an american magna carter that was passed in 1964 after a long fight and a long struggle, that

went all the way back to the civil war. after the civil war, when the nation amended its constitution and created a 14th amendment, they added a section in there that said that congress shall enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. this the late 1860's. now, what happened along that journey is instructiveo today, the first civil rights act that was passed. the civil rights act of 6618 ve president johnson. it became law because the congress overrode his veto. the second civil rights act that was passed was in 1875. a a lot like the 1964 act.

we've got to teach aj? little bt this morning. and that 1875 civil rights act in 1883 was substantially struck down by the united states supreme and the united s court's character, meaning who sat on the court, changed as 18 the hey hays compromise. so, here was the supreme court, less than 20 years after the legislation designed to enforce the constitution as unconstitutional. from that point1883, this very same court in

another, if you will, judicial coup, a coup in 1896, declared the law of the land and banished black people to a second class for some 70 years. i am connecting dotsau as things go, things repeat themselves and we need to understand those who are battling our progress, they're following a historic road map as well and we must understand that historic road map. so from 1896 all the way until 1964 the civil rights leaders,

the civil rights advocates of the early 20th century began to think and imagine and work on how they could pass an any civil rights law. and this ferguson decision gave rise to the naacp gave raise to the creation in 1910 of the national urban league and many of the organizations that evolved thereafter. i want to bring us to 1964 because 1964 in the past the civil rights act did not happen because there was a fit of

enlightenment by the members of the united states congss it did not happen because of serendipitous osmosis. it happened because there was a movement beginning when the courageous woman refused to gi in montgomery, alabama, of direct action. and that movement was supported by an aggressive strategy in the courts that thurgood marshall and hamilton houston architected to try to knock down all of these walls. so it was litigation and activism. chevron and melanie our predecessors in thed in 1963 wi americans at that great march on washington, they had a

demand. we want a civil rights act and a voting rights act and we want it now. so we come forward. and i've bsked on a number of news shows what's happened and has the civil rights act of 1964 worked? and at the correspondents, both women and african-americans and other people of color w grace the anchor desks at all of these great media organizations and said, you would not be here. not just the african-americans, but the the latinos, and asians, and others, you would not be here but for the civil rights act of 1964.

so our cynics, cynics and sometimes what i call polite prevaricators will sometimes say, nothing has changed. i say were you living in 1964? if we suggest that nothing has the work of many. and it took, yes, a■ martin luther king and a dorothy height and a whitney young, and it took a malcolm x, and it took a rosa parks thurgood marshall and it took a jack greenberg and the uaw supporting the march on washon and it took a lynn done lyndon johnson who

knew how to break a filibuster, we don't know how many he cut, but whatever he did, it worked and the civil rights act of '64 passed. we are progenators of that work. the second part of this state of black america is the equality index and each and every year for the past 20 years we have said, let's put the facts when it comes to the number of social and economic conditions out there so we can understand clearly what the ■? gícomparative is when it comes o the social and economic conditions of black americans and white americans so we're not having aion with our brilliant opinions only, and we have brilliant opinions, and we're also not having a

discussion with the rank misinformation and lying that goes on when it comes to progress or lack thereof in this nation. and the third part of this report is a report on president biden and whether he has lived up to the promises he made in paper as candidate biden and we wanted to look at it so that people could those several of you in here are elected, some of you like me are former elected. what counts is that politics sometimes like romance, i make a promise, you buy into it, did i keep it. it's not about, well, i'm changing my promises every day, or backing off three and coming

up with two more new ones. so, we decided we wanted to look at that. we had evaluated president obama. we need to world a great rhetoric, this world of great rhetoric, we need to always have a factual basis and what the national urban league seeks to do is provide a factual basis, whether it's the equality index or now the biden progress report, we put itfor p you can discuss it. you can challenge it if need be, but we are just presenting the facts. so those are the three components of the state of black america report. can we talk a little bit about the civil rights'64? so let's talk a little about what the civil rights act of

'64, which had seven provisions in it. seven sections in it, which sought t open the doors to both employment and public accommodations. there were provisions on voting and a provision that applied to anyone that took federal money. so, that act, let's look at some of the changes, top line changes and i've referenced these in american life. what has happened in corporate america since 1964? so since '64 and in '64, there were zero black and-- and 50 plus, and i am not going to suggest to you that we could should be satisfied with this number, but it is important to point out the change and these dynamic

won and african-americans who lead these companies are competent and qualified and outstanding and behind them, there are legions of the fact that we highlight this does not suggest satisfaction. that's not what it suggests. it■@ suggests that this act has made a bit of a difference in this area. let's look at the political community, right? the congress of the united states and i think this was enhanced by the '64 act and the '65 voting rights act, but lo, five blacks-- when the cil rights act passed there were five blacks, adam clayton powell of new york, bill dawson, los angeles, along with bob knicks of

philadelphia and charles diggs of detroit, and john conyers of detroit. five, six, african-americans who are a member of the congress at that time. now there are 60 african-americans, 18 asian americans, 54 latinos, five native americans, 150women. applause. [applause] >> that deserves an applause and i wanted to point this out because once again, has there been progress? and far more progress here than on the corporate side because this owes to the power of the vote. this owes to political engagement. this owes to involvement and then beyond these there are a large number of members of

coping who are not black, not asian-american, not latino, not native american, who african-american and latino voters are central to their coalition. meaning, they could not win if they couldn't put athat include together. so, let's give that a big round of applause. [applause] >> a i amlw when we look at that. so, the civil rights act has made a dier challenges that we e -- i want to put this in this ■■ context. may of 2020. covid was two months old. we were all watching television and then the iphone video in mi

took was flashed across our screen. and we saw george floyd with-- we saw a man die before our eyes. is this-- which one is working? neither? let me talk loud. so we saw that on the streets. spontaneously across the nation, spontaneously there were protests across the world. i remember we got press calls

from new zealand and hungary and the united kingdom and there was a rise and awakening ■f■ reckoning. tell you a story. i know my time is tight, but i've got to tell you a■k personl story because it did happen. i got a letter, a letter received, i think you need to look at this letter. so i opened this letter, a handwritten letter from someone i went to middle school wit and you know, i attended a middle school where i was the first african-american student to attend there i was there there were only two african-american students in the whole school and i was the only one in my class for four straight years. it was an apology letter from someone who had been an upper classman, probably in 7th or 8th grade in 5th

grade apologized for bullying, calling me names, i guess they call it microaggressions or macro aggressions. but he said in the letter that he was compelled to write the letter because of what happened to george floyd and that it had forced him to, quote, reexamine who he is and what he's about. no return address. é but i found him. [laughter] >> make reference so we understand how powerful the mome was.

strong st forward to today. fast forward to today. not on our watch will we be silenced while we make those who made commitments all of a sudden gain of courage of the wizard of oz and walk away. not on our watch will we be silenced while people run for office or wealthy hedge fund people call competent black women whore presidents of major universities deni hired. you might as well■[■$ said whatu really meant. you can say what you want, but don't say that.

this is the moment that we find ourselves in. we find ourselves in a moment where over 1,000 proposeals si2020, 1,000 to suppress the vote, to make it harder for people to vote targeted at black people and latinos and poor people and disabled americans and older americans and students. with a cover story, which is a blatant misrepresentation and lie that somehow the election system is riddled with fraud. we have to be clear that these arguments today are also going to involve cover stories of

misrepresentation, prevarication, misstatement of fact, invention of facts, distraction from the truth, and diminution of history. bills nation to ban books. toni morrison, come on. maya angelou, come on. ralph ellison, get out of here. to ban books as though these students are not going to go to barns and nobles and pick them up. or they're not going to go online, they want to ban them, i want to read them that much more. the absurdity of it all, there's aush back.

while haver the states have engaged proposals to suppress the vote, i'm happy to tell you that another half of s have passed legislation to expand access to vote introduced mail voting, have done things to make it■m easier so, this is not simply that there's one side of this ledger and not another side of the for every company that may be retreating on diversity, equity and inclusion, there may be three more or four who are saying i'm going tod i'm going going to remain committed. we have to understand get caught in the glass half empty mentality. we cannot fight a■' if we do not have a mindset that we are strong because our case is right. d and our

allies and ourselves are aligned to make this occur. so, in this quickly, we index at about 76% of where white americansre and i encourage you to look at the index. the index is an average. here is the they think, you see an imp the last two years. that improvement is probably the largest two-year improvement we've seen in the past, however, at this pace, parity is 180 years away. now, keep this in perspective. we are like a caboose on a train. so over the last 50 years has the high school graduation rate and the community gone up?

yes, it has. give a hand, give a hand. [applause] >> the race for white americans has improved, too, and that's not a bad thing, but we remain behind. ditto for the college matriculation rate■■ for many, many areas we've made progress, but we've not made relative progresyn to the overall improvements in the country and that's the paradox of this index. i wanted to show you these five areas so you can see that when it comes to economics, we lag. when it comes to social justice, which includesinal jus lag. these are areas that have been stubborn and persistent and i would argue, they are connected in many respects. so what we need to do is understand these numbers and use this as a tool for

conversations and policy making and thought leadership. we want students, we want scholars, we want journalists, we want business leaders, faith leaders, politicians to know these numbers and understand these numbers and then finally, joe biden. so joe biden as a civil rights community, melanie, you'll remember, when we got on the pho in 2020 to speak to him and it's our practice to try to speak to anybody running, but we're not going to chase you. we send you a letter and you don't return it, that's on you. come on now. so let's just understand, we'll talk to anybody, anywhere who wants to be about our community

and i'm not talking about tennis shoes. i'm talking about jobs. i'm talking about talking about and education and the like. so, so very important, whene talked to joe biden as a candidate, we challenged him. you need to put a plan together fo■■ope ba. put a plan together, we want to see a set of specifically enumerated issues. he said, that's a great idea, i'll do it, but i'd like to see what you recommend. ...

and the truth of the matter is th t■ocia filled a large number of stated commitments. two things i want everyone to know because there's a lot of misinformation floating around. right now if you look at 2020, both the overall unemployment rate and the black unemployment rate, you see significant declines. all the way down to 5.3% 5r black americans, 3.7% on an overall basis.tant because we were in a trough in 2020 with millions and millions of people out of work, 40% of black businesses close to 70% of businesses shut down.

this is what we face. but we also thought it■as the ts that did not necessarily get done in the first three years. before sayinglebrat this presidi will, i will nominate a black person, a black woman to be vice president. [applause] and let me tell you, i've heard promises from politicians or a . and then i hear what i call the old crawfish move. you know the crawfish move? start backing up. [laughing] backing up. well, you know, circumstances have changed, and you know, i've got some of the pressures on me, i don't think i can follow the promise, and can make it up to you later? we didn't see that. when it came to the nomination of kamala harris. and he said i'll put a black

woman on the united states supreme court. [applause] and not only did he nominate a woman, he nominated an outstanding lawyer, legal scholar who can hold her own a■; isn't afraid to open her mouth or use her pen. these were important commitment a put the general there who is now head of the joint chiefs. so we ask for diverse cabinet and a dse and people who look like our community. the healthcare expansion is nobl and if if you look at te index, healthcare disparities have narrowed a bit, and that does mean the healthcare system is perfect. look, i've been in it with this knee. don't get me started.

i'm not talking about any insurance companies, i love my dock. so it's important again to look at this in other areas of improvement. but then we said there's anunfi. there are things we know didn't get done and i want to list a few of them. there are three thereby want to highlight some. voting rights, the freed to vote, the john ghts advancement act did not get done. this is essential. what happened? let me tell you what really happened. you want to know what really happened? so -- know what i mean? we were in the trenches on this. i think you're right before you join the coalition, but we're working with executive branch the members of congress on the john lewis voting rights advancement act.

and we had gotten, we have gone through the house, right? got it to the house. and then all of a are in the senate. we have 48 commitments. 48 commitments. we had 48 48 hard commitment. all we needed was for two members of the united states senate to agree to create an exception one time for the filibuster. and we worked on those two members. you know their names. one is from west virginia. he's retiring. the other one is from arizona. she isun reelection, and we talked to them and we worked very hard to persuade them to grant this exception. let's be candid, let's be clear. let's be unvarnished. let's not mince words. it didn't happen because of the two of them.

they blocked■ passage of the john lewis bill. now, the republican blockade was up there. we couldn't move them. mitch mcconnell told his is under no circumstances will we ever support voting rights. says that privately, publicleth. this is why this did not happen. we passed the george floyd bill twice in the house of representatives, good strong bill. didn't do everything we wanted it. same thing, got to the senate, died right there on the line. right? the freedom to vote act with the john lewis bill, same exact thing. the fouh one as was commissioned on reparation which could never get the support in

the house of representatives to benb adopted. there's unfinished business. unfinished business on our agenda. every one■ ofhese items i've discussed when explained to the american people generates■ 60-7% support. when the understand it beyond talking points, when the they do, they have almostdder, universal support. so■ae cannot allow ourselves to be mesmerized into a mindset that what we want is something only we want. there's a broad coalition of people who will support. but if we do not raise our

voices and say this is a priority, if we do not challenge those that come to our community who want to vote, if we do not use our platforms and our leadership to tell our community why this important and why these things are on the ballot in 2024, shame on us. this is the work that we have to do. so let me close because our call to action is clear. and our call to action is also what i would recommend, that president biden when he gives his state of theni include, number one, defend democracy. safe defend >> number two, we want to demand. demand diversity, equity and inclusion. and what does that mean? we demand a fair chance. we demand equal access to the

american dream. we demand equal economic opportunity. we demand that the words of the civilized act of 1864 be real, that was on paper is what we live by. that is what diversity, equity, and inclusion -- don't get confused when people want to get the logical gymnastics. used to call it fair employment practices. then they said it was ceo. then it was affirmative action. now it's diversity, equity, and inclusion. and some people want to call it belonging. [laughing] and part of me says call it what you want, just make sure it's real. make sure it's a real in terms of creating opportunity for the community that were locked out and left out before 1964.

we must demand diversity and equity and inclusion in factories, , in board rooms, in america. and then finally we must defeat poverty. the 21st century has given us the largest economy in the history of human beings. he i the united states of america. almost 25 trillion and you can't even tell me because i can remember how many zeros that is, but it's big. 25 trillion. the truth, the truh is you have what i call traditional poverty, extreme were on the edge of simply trying to keep

their head above water. and then you have those, and this is a large portion, so d up and go to work■@ every day. they might have two jobs. they are raising children or ta c family members. they can't pay their rent. there's not enough money to make the mortgage work. pay for food, transportation. we have a new working poverty in america, which is pernicious. and this is part of the wealth gap and part of the income gap. we need a renewed effort. back . it made a difference. [applause] pass a national living wage bill and index it to inflation. [applause] give us a comprehensive plan on

homeownership to make housing more affordable and to build more affordable units. give us,■ give us a way to make college more affordable. [applause] and don't preach to me about everybody doesn't need to go to college. because if they don't, they should decide, not we don't want tracking and steering. in the days of segregation, high schools in the black community in the south pot manual arts -- taught -- homemaking, not college prep. they were not designed, well, i believe in workforce and certificates and immunity

colleges and job opporni for those without college. but i don't want any young person who has a vision and a dream to be college educated cannot take that path because money is in the way. aspirations to be suppressed because someone else said, you don't need a college education. so we have to stand up for system of human capital preparation, be it certificates for trinity colleges for quality high schools or apprenticeship programs of workforce development programs, and college, and graduate school that's attainable and affordable for everyone. america --

[applause] -- became the economic powerhouse in the 17th and 18th centuries because of the oe labor. post-world war ii it became an economic powerhouse, i would contend, because of the combination of things. yes, the g.i. bill which left many of us out, but civil rights. civil rights open the doors. you go look at the economy andóu will look at the economy of 2024. you go look at houston, you go look at dallas, , you go look at atlanta before civil rights and after civil rights, you get my point. the '64 act, the transformation of america towards a multiracial

democracy is good good for all. [applause] so i'm going to just close by reminding you of two things get so the shop what you want to embrace this d3 message, take it back to your local communities when people say what is the agenda you want to defend democracy? we want to demand diversity, we want to policies, we want initiatives. we want programs. we want recommendations. we want to focus on doing that. and then we're going out with our civic engagement campaigns this fall. we have to register people. we have to educate people. and we have to mobilize people. we have to register them and educate them and mobilize them. and let me say this. not voting is not a strategy.

[applause] i hear people say, well, i'm going to withhold my vote. and i'm like, and what strategy is that? [laughing] and what book are y or do you have a comprehensive strategic plan as to not voting. not voting is unilateral -- not voting is not going to knife fight with a water pistol. it's going to a knifeight with your hands tied behind your back. and they are tied behind your back because you tied them, note have to understand that voting for candidates is not like

"american idol." i'm not going to sit there and say, entertainment, make me feel good. i love their chasm jokes. voting is about comparing peoples agenda us. their commitments, their promises, their seriousness about what they are going to do. and we have to educate ours is t our power, and we can't give it up. but we have to also understand voting alone is not a magical wand. just vote for some base and sit back and they -- no. it's part of being physically engage. we have to do more than vote. we had to be organized. went to be engaged. wead to be part of the policy conversations. we have to be involved at the local levels.

our job is to stimulate, encourage and motivatur communities to do the same. so i reclaim your vote campaign, stay tuned for more details be doing. and we're going to be out there, we said at this time, 2020, we have to do stuff on line. 2022 we did a lot of stuff online. record to continue on fine but it's time for us to roll up our sleeves and knock on some doors. roll on the sleeves and come college campuses, roll up our sleeves and go to the neighbors hood, the churches,ave conversah people about the importance of participation and sit engagement. can i count on you? are you ready? >> yes. >> not on our watch a. >> not on our watch. >> not on our watch. >> not on our watch. >> not on our watch. >> not on our watch. >> for those that may be viewing, we would like to thank you for tuning in.

state of black american.org is worth the full and complete report is available. it's free. download it, please share it. please share it. please submit generously and abundantly for your networks throughout your community. good morning, god bless you, and thank you. [applause] >> let's give■ it up again for president marc morial. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, you heard the diagnosis. now it's time for the prescription. the national urban league is committed to defending the integrity and intent of the civil rights act while expanding its protection

americans. and at this critical moment for our democracy, our institutions seek to advance the quality of k backwards. and to discuss this call to action, we've invited an outstanding panel of influential thought leaders and social justice activists. and let's meet them right now. starting with the the presid ceo of the national coalition on black civic participation and convener of the black women's roundtable, give it up for melanie campbell. our friend and our sister. [applause] >> now let's welcome the president and chief executive officer of the national council of negro women, doctor siobhan bradley. [applause] >> welcome to the stage the

president and ceo of the columbia urban league, j.c. [applause] now, , let's welcome back moderate this amazing panel and discussion, president and ceo marc morial. [applause] >> thank you all very much. i'm going to get, were going to the audience in minute and want to make sure you're part of this thank you all. jt and m was given another round of applause. thank you very much. jt, give us a historic background on you been leading in south carolina. south carolina has been a crucible of the movement, some very important battles against the flag, mother emanuel church. you've been there working for

many, many, many generations. on how you think about this moment. >> thank you very much, marc. first■& greetings from south carolina. [applause] south carolina is the home of african people who came to america. >> amen. >> south carolina is very unique as you know. we believe that we have to have resiliency and that we must the able to do like our ancestors. we must walk back faith not by sight. we must be able to see it, unless we see at we must be able to clean it. and we are going to claim it by putting forth efforts, not through osmosis. you have to work. and what you claim it you have

got to achieve it. sometimes we stopped at achievement. now we added another factor you got tok8■s m what happened throughout this country. we had a situation in south carolina we were one of the few states that flew the confederate flag, and we got called in october 1999 from someone who said to us, we need the league and we need the urban aby to bring this like them because it sends a message that second-class citizens. and i think i that we had a -- dr. david swinton was■ñ the president of been the college who wrote in the state of black america under brinton jordan. he got his doctorate from harvard university. when he came to settle in every corporate leader wanted him on the board. but he hung with the people. nof

there's no justice there will be no peace. that's what the president of the htpu university said. he was on our board and he said to us -- january 17, 2000, we decide to march to bring down the confederate flag. called and said we only need 10,000 people to march. i said wait a minute. we ought to be able to get 60,000 people come we can get 60,000 people to a football game. why can't we get 60,000 people to march? he had a vision. we couldn't do it by herself. dr. vaughn we have a collaborative effort. we work very closely black churc and 20 organizations and we mobilized and we were able from

1999 we brought people in from all over the statement we had to get a consistent a lot of times leader want to lead of the get -- they can't see the. we had to bring the people to the table we had to discuss it. we all voted whether or not we're going to be able to put this march together from december 4 to january 17. and i was a man who was a preacher picky set up and said no, we can't do this. we don't have enoughu time. i thank god for our young people. there was a student from the university who heard about the meeting on the day of the meeting, came to columbia, south carolina, stood up and said we can do it. doctors whitten said call for the votes. [laughing] no more were going to do it. and we mobilized over 50,000 people. that's why the said we had more

than that. so in south carolina first of all, we know what our ancestors did under critical situations and we stand on their shoulders. we are going to together and mobilize and we walk back faith and not our site we will be successful. the. [applause] >> thank you. you have brought new energy to the national council of negro women standing on the shoulders of -- [applause] of the great dorothy height and many others, but you also special, if■t will, expertise in activism around health and healthcarewed some narrowing of disparities. give us some observations on how you see things now.

>> first of all, it is not honor to be here. my first book report was on whitney young, >> as as a first grader in new jersey. [applause] i never told you the story. a mentor of mine and a board member of yours, and one of things i recall from really of that cartoon book was of whitney and dorothy fix i i want to thank you for being my whitney in this moment. [applause] because somehow god doesn't t things in order as they need to be. and so i will say this about healthcare. [inaudible] [laughing] but i do know the word but i won't say, the health care for me has been the cornerstone of our politics has put in this country. one of the things we learned

about healthcare context is, and i will give the urban the credit for this, you probably the first that taught us what it means to engage in social determinants of health. because what social determines of health needs is what you were ip can affect the way your quality of life. and so the context for that visually connected to how healthcare can answer a lot of questions. the rn why went to of goods because i saw my own people struggle with health i was active in college at tulane where met this young man named i one of the things that we learned in soleimani's was diabetes chronic diseases t underneath as an and act as i had two great for my people. but what it did no that i was going to beal cause, and healthcare has really made this a greater cause i was in naacp health director when the motor was the first came to

my office because of the affordable care act. why? because close gap with health care would close a gap for economics, on transportation, on housing. [applause] and if you are not healthy you cannot go to work. y you cannot learn in school. if you are not healthy you can get out of your bed. and if obama is not healthyus? disparities are nothing but differences. i want to give you context.■ eally means is removing -- [inaudible] equity can be achieved if the barriers are bigger than the plan. and so the closing of those gaps and appreciate also for the opportunity to been a part of this report because healthcare for me is the human rights

activists plan to help us set strategies for everything else. so those gaps of being closed because we learned about can't disease. smoking was always in our committees because it was marketed in our communities. we had foods that were deteriorating in our communities. there was a study done a first grade that asked what colore bananas and they said the collar was brown. so you have good nutrition if you have around bananas. so i'm saying i want a brown banana plant. how can we create gaps can now expand and opportunities to expand in spite of us advocating for equality in healthcare and removing barriers, which means healthcare providers have to be like. i said what i said what i said. they've got to be black. got bewildered. healthcare cannot change if we do not have partnership

corporation. fight with corporations. i'm not fight with killing the people. and so i will close with if we can look at this opportunity of policy practice, clear strategy on how we bring industry and the people in alignment, i promise you that we can push this administration and make our politics a a much ber place for black people in america. >> all right. [applause] >> thank you, shavon. excellent. melanie, a lot of, we excrete a lot of this journey together as a part desha we experience -- over the last decade, decade and a half. good part of the issue really helping in the state, michigan and south carolina and places mobilizing voters. what do you want to share from

what you are hearing and thinking, and then what the challenge is for 2024 to get our community fully engaged? >> you sai it ady. we've got to get in the streets, right? our people, first, to step back, you know. it is always a pleasure to be with the urban league family, so thank you all again for inviting me. [applause] y'all must've most of it was looking at this f because we together in college february 2, right? all right? he hey. the president of -- south carolina primaries. so, here we are here today. right? we are all gathered here.

your report is timely to give us a roadmap because we are not an existential threat. we are in a fight fory lives. and so the attacks that are taking place are not, we talk about diversity, equity, inclusion, people get if you said it's about you are not going to have the ability to make that money, not have the ability to future families, not the ability to become that millionaire, billionaire, whatever you want to be. we have to break down. what i'm hearing is that people are dealing with, they don't see the numbers. they are not feeling the numbers. and i don't know about you but i've got a feeling, right? and if i don't feel it, sometimes make a determination that it's not really happening. and so with all the things that have happened so glad you have information about the current

administration. and sometimes we often tell people we are, are winning. if we were not winning there wouldn't be going after us, right? if we were not winning9;■9 they wouldn't be trying to shut us down. nobody wastes time on anybody. if that out, you know, so we are winning but you know'm florida. and always lift up my hometown. and so when back home i don't, i focus on, it's the getting all the way down to everybody. unemployment is still high in my hometown. destination place vacation stop on i-95 in u.s. one. right? they are noticing that. what they are seeing in florida which is why we spent in october, marc, we marched and thank you overly you with a way to give you check come i get the

sidekick i got no money but i'm going. ise things sometimes, right? got to say go. i went. i went down there with no money for 30 days. ones who came because we have to get down to nokia other stores and communicating with our people. they are not going to show up, okay? so we stayed there 30 days and will be kept hearing was you know i'm still struggling. can't afford to get the childcare. i can't afford eggs. if i had one more person talk to me about the cost of eggs, have you seen the cost of eggs, right? that's a real thing. so if i don't feel it, i'm not going to connected to what you have here. so if we don't get into the community and knock on those stores, that old-fashioned way we can do this all day long. i've got two of them. one over there.

we will go one for for a mi. we have to get in communities in a real weight and we cannot wait. we have to do now. urban league, i remember when marc and i hooked up, use of the speedy out the present. you just had to be urban league president, right? , right? you know i'm not lying, right? this is my brother from another mother. and my line?úí >> you write. [laughing] >> we were at harvard, shut up but we were as, we were doing ae was doing his fellowship. you just finished being the mayor. yove been mayor for life when you got a position or not. we had that conversation but we also had the conversation about how we have to together and how do we have to organize together, how we have to unify. it's at dr. daniels? you know what'm tmgalking about. so that reality is we have to come together now, do it now.

when y'all go back home urban league people respectoull to bring information. what else remember the urban league would get in the streets. but you in the suites and the streets and we need you in both. [applause] >> let's give them a big round of applause. [applause] we have a f minutes, so i'm going to call on dr. vaughn daniels who is the founder -- for a question. and that i'm going to call on william barnes. where are you, william? you were just there. my eyesight --■8 the president f the advisory council of the executives for question. and then i'm going to call and you, jennifer thompkins, for question. so i got -- these are questions, no sermons, no sermon nets.

if you want to make a brief statement and say what you have about eight to ten minutes. ron, thank you for being here. thank you for being a friend. ron daniels. [applause] [inaudible] okay. >> do have mic -- driven extra mic? luscious and this mic down. thank you. i really just want, not a questiut an accommodation really. because of this importance as block party said that we know our history. and the way in which this is laid out a discussion of reconstruction -- on the marley.

post reconstruction beware at the moment in terms of doing oua uses a i'm about to write that about that again because we need to know the history. ketanji brown jackson is right because she knows what happened with those reconstruction amendments. we all need to know that. i do have a question. i got the challenge here let's go to work. also agree it can't just be the virtual paragraph to connect the virtual with what we always pickets not an either/or that we have to do. the accommodations on the history. [applause] >> thank you. william, president of the advisory council executive. william, thanks for being here. >> thank you. let me say this, marc. thank you for your leadership. i got to start with 20. >> we can to talk about this and the connectivity of what ihi tis before us, the connectivity with other leaders in the community.

we talk about coalitions. someone to make that a statement first and foremost. here's a question. i had a conversation with some of my colleagues yesterday, talking about how we continue to mobilize and more particularly keep folks engaged. we talk about engagement, we know and you got the report out as relates to president joe biden. that doesn't seem to be translated to the communities relation to do we have the right things happening as it comes out of d.c.? how do we overcome the challenges, and they are real, make no mistake,, we think about young people they don't say organization. they don't see organization is a way to go when we're talking about. so we will fight on her hands. we can't win without our young people. i'm very interes■tedoare we thie we going to make sure we are connecting with the generation to make sure they can help ■q u. >> was try to, you want to go first? >> i wanted that one.

the inside joke my office is the common number 45 because i'm 45 years old and that is an anomaly in our space. and what i told him is you call me 45 but you better sta calling me 25 speaker because 25 speakers are the ones that young people have literally checked out on with the we do■f institutionally. so lets you grew up in a legacy space we understand institutions, you have to then change your hat. i am blessed to be in a lineage of folks don't look at black institutions as part of strategy. strategy. that is no longer the case. quite frankly to be honest about we left our folks to create their own institutionalism because we have failed them. so i i say there are two thins one, vote values and we hide behind israel-palestine can we don't talk about the rounds on the ground that we are just as complicit as thecriticizing. so we have to tell our truth. i can tell you that young people

are actually open would have the eate space of the two of the conversation. so it's not just virtual but also going to wear the actually go. engaged. young people actually are engaged. they're just not as tolerant as some of us. so we worked on our tolerance approach and we can learn from them. they would never took some us of our ancestors took. we taught them to we should be grateful for what it says. it says we gave them power. so what i'm saying to you is or is an opportunity, don't just be desha put on your genes, put your hat on backwards can go back in space and put your desha i'm fine with it, but give them an opportunity to sit at the table with you. the only reason why we went, we can people at all of our tables. >> thank you. great, great response. we have just one last question,

i'm sorry, we have to wrap and go to jen thompkins from wilmington. go ahead. >> good morning, everyone and thank you so much for this opportunity to ask this. i am a preacher as well, and a lot of time when i tell you and people about voting, i say one thing we should come we should do it like communion in remembrance of and we don't do it any other way. [applause] but for everyone in the room who is going back to our several communities want to know, do you have any talking points to compel our younger voters toortf voting? you have any talking points? >> i would say yes. one, , you have the right year i believe. i believe what marc laid out is a core, clear message, right, the three d's that's very clear and it breaks that down. what we have in our organizatio

organization, we have what we call power to college. we break that down and connected. we were in florida went to all hbcus and also in florida committees. so what can people, was to connect that thought. we have to connect those dots to make it simple, something they can print. our tagline was we will not be erased. can people walking up, i'm at the airport that has assured this is power to abolish. >> we will not be erased. no organization name on it, no -- but that simple message power to violence can we be erased. we were shocked that were going to put on -- i learned from the urban league he's goingo sweatshirts so we can pay for the movement. that's what we're doing. so make it simple and let people

run with it. but if you do the whole, they're not going to listen. >> so we -- one minute aí;s i've been told we have to wrap. >> is recognized 15 at can we do it every year. with that the note achievement that is. young people don't want you to talk and what to see in action. that's what got to do, continue to connect with young people. there are future. power to young peopl >> called adjusted to join discussed some of our hbcus have joined us of howard, morgan say, are all in the room? please stand. let's recognize them. please a stand. please stand. please stand. [cheers and applause] >> so i will close with this observation, and that is i think that something simple we talk about young people, one thing we must all rumor is we were once,

where once -- don't you get amnesia. there's something simple, it's called listening. hearing andsk i was accused of being disruptive, troublemaker. you know, i was running for office as he in person. they said boy, g sit down. i said no, i'm not going to sit down, right? and i forged ahead. and youth does not necessarily equate with immaturity. >> that's right. >> and young people are taking on the responsibility to manage their lives, build a family, build a career. many young people have responsibilities to take care of others in the family.

and so we want, ile think sometimes we listenable bigger even if we going to engage as opposed to treating it as though we have all the answers. it's the line in glory. a great l we need the wisdom of the elders, and youngergy. and i dropped the mic and we stand adjourned. [applause] [laughing] >> thank you all. we're going to transition to ride it. >> thank you so much. let's give another round of applause to this dynamic panel. i would also like to thank our sponsor venture global. we have now come to the end of the live stream portion of this program. but before we sign o i want to

say thank you to our online audience that today's discussion has position us in the place of strength and possibility. a generation of giants and just as warriors are for the development and passage of the 1964 civil rights a and we won't fail them. we will honor their legacy by preserving and expanding their achievement for generations to come. so thank you once a the change. now, for those of you in the room nap at the live stream is ending, for those of you who are in the room is a lot more ahead for in person attendees. i do want to welcome to the stage now tara murray will share a brief overview of the legislative policy conference sessions that are to come. give her a round of applause as she comes, thank you. [applause] >> good morning or brevity is fired up after that conversation. i know i am.

but we're going to take a short break, a very short break before launching into this morning's legislative policy conference sessions that begin in about 15 minutes and 11 a.m. sharp. and i just want to tell you we're building off of the morning.tion that we had so you're going to continue to ask the questions that you're asking, engage with the speakers. we have shavon come back to us and some of our sessions are just really looking forward to it today, today what's coming up. so this morning we had session one empowerment unveiled, confronting the war on woke in k-12 education. that's going to tackle the alarminglative efforts to ban books and whitewash history from school curriculums across the nation. so obviously we can talk about this today. find out how our movement is pushing back and can push back in that session. that sessions going to convene on the 11th floor inhe form

room. session two is tech justice come censoring equity in the era and balloting for innovation. for this session we gathered experts to explore how ai technologies and policies impact the future of civil rights. in the last session that we have this morning on the second floor in the everglades -- excuse me, that session come two is going to be on the main level and congressional a pickup on the second floor in the everglades yellowstone room we hav a small business session titled the new black capital, dressing up like economic and social mobility. we have an basing panelists for you here today, and so you won't want to miss it. please go to those sessions. a final reminder to download the injury out empowerment summit avenue to keep up-to-date with the schedule -- in ul and use hashtag and power summit 20 way

for when post a social media and at urban league. again thank you to our partners, the urban league staff, our guests and attendees for helping us launch this summer in such a powerful minute. we'll see with the rest of the day. thank you. the u.s. house returns today n eastern. metal consider several homeland security bills including legislation requiring customs and border protection update its inspection policieso ensure drug interdiction guidance is date. also legislation reauthorizing safe motherhood grants to states to supportts to sustain the help the mother through pregnancy and postpartum period wednesdaumbers are expected to vote on the first of two fund the government to october 1 to avert a a partial government wn friday at midnight. the senate is back today at 3 p.m. eastern. send it is with a big the

nomination of an assistant e secretary for manpower and reserve affairs and devoted fans the nomination at 5:30 eastern. he first nominated by president biden over year and half ago september 2022. watch live coverage of the house on c-span, the senate on c-spa and remind you can watch all of our congressional coverage our free video at c-span now or online at c-span.org. >> watch c-span's live campaign 2024 super tuesday coverage as 15 states including the american samoa territory cast their vote in primaes or caucus for the nominee for president. we will take a calls and your social media reactions for life results as a come along with candidate speeches. watch live coverage tonight beginning at 8 p.m. eastern on the c-span networks, c-span now or free mobile app or online at

c-span.org/campaign 2024. c-span.org/campaign2024. c-span here unfiltered view of politics. >> on thursy psint biden said to give the annualte of the union address. ahead of his speech we are asking what issue is most important to you. to parti scanned that your code on your screen or go to c-spanoll to add your voice to the conversation. discussed of the present would be speaking before aoint session of cs you outline his policy prayers for the coming ynd share his thoughts on the sta of the country. this will be the third state o union address of his presidency and likely his last speech before cars ahead of the 20.4 presidential election. we will keep this open leading up to the president's address. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by this television companies and more including cox. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> koolen-de vriesyndrome is