Regardless of which city or town you live in, there are challenges, but there are also solutions.
That is what Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League (NUL), has been discussing during his visits to cities across the country, including one made to Indianapolis recently.
Still in touch with its historical mission, the NUL is among several organizations that have been very active in the effort to promote ways of achieving quality education, economic stability and voter awareness in urban communities.
Morial became the NUL’s president in 2002 after serving eight years as mayor of New Orleans, where he reduced crime by 60 percent, cut unemployment in half and left office with a 70 percent approval rating.
He has also been a successful business owner, lawyer and state legislator.
The Recorder got in touch with Morial to discuss several topics, ranging from jobs and charter schools to presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s disconnect from one of the nation’s oldest civil rights organizations.
You were recently in Indianapolis for the annual Fall Conference of the Council of the Great City Schools. What are some important points you mentioned?
I talked to them about the rest of the story about school reform, and emphasized equitable school funding and early childhood education. I also highlighted disproportionate disciplinary methods because too many kids, especially Black kids, are getting suspended and expelled. Finally, I mentioned the need for there to be drop out prevention and response strategies. All of these issues need to be front and center in the school reform debate within the United States.
Locally and nationally, there is a debate as to whether more support should be given to charter schools or traditional public schools. Is there room for both in urban communities?
Charter schools have been a utilized as a strategy, and they can be an effective way to try new and different ideas. What I caution people about is thinking that a charter school strategy in and of itself is going to fix the problems of education. It is important to understand that there are great charter schools and there are bad charter schools. At the same time, there are good traditional public schools, and there are bad traditional public schools. I think many school districts are trying new methods to address education, and sometimes a charter approach can be of some benefit because it can allow you to do some things that were difficult to do in a traditional public school. But I caution everyone not to look at it as some sort of magic wand.
What is the greatest challenge facing our schools?
Our schools are not doing a good job educating poor children, particularly poor children of color. We have to do things differently, we need early education, we need longer school days, we need social workers and guidance counselors and we need to make sure we have the very best and best trained teachers serving in the most challenging environments.
Of course, this is a very important presidential election year. Have you met both of the major candidates?
No. President Obama came to our conference in New Orleans and gave a great talk. We invited Mitt Romney, but he did not come. It’s very interesting, but this is probably the first time in a long time that someone is running for president and I’ve not met them. We met with John McCain, George W. Bush, John Kerry and even as far back as the first Bush and Michael Dukakis in 1988. However, Gov. Romney did not come and speak to our conference and we’ve not had any engagement with him.
What issue(s) would you like to see discussed more often on the campaign trail?
I want a more specific discussion about jobs and the problems of urban communities. I think that there’s not a large discussion about the challenges in urban communities face in the areas of jobs, education and poverty, and I would like to see that.
What are some of the current goals of the NUL?
This year we have had our eight-point employment and education plan, and our 12-point jobs plan as the main objectives. We are also very close to finishing all of the pieces in announcing a major jobs training initiative that will touch about 15 cities across the country. We have been working on this for about two years, putting the resources together for this initiative. I hope we’ll be announcing it after the election.
What are your goals for 2013?
Our focus will remain on employment and education, but 2013 will also be a special year because it will be the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, so it’s going to be a year to commemorate that important time in American history.
Formed in 1910, the mission of the Urban League is to enable African-Americans to “secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.” For more information about the Indianapolis Urban League, visit indplsul.org. For information about national NUL initiatives, visit nul.iamempowered.com.
