Legacy 2015 South Florida: Urban League Conference | Page 6

4BB

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO THE SUN SENTINEL

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2015

State of Black America ®

By Marc H. Morial, President & CEO,
National Urban League
Few times in a nation’s history is
the conscience of its citizens shocked
and awakened across racial, economic,
generational and even ideological
lines. These are the times when the
collective consciousness of a people also
unapologetically screams that it’s time
for change—and that it must start today.
That time is now. 2014 was indeed
a catalytic year that was propelled
by cataclysmic circumstances—little
accountability for law enforcement
responsible for killing unarmed Black
men, teenagers and children; a continual
assault on voting rights; widening
economic inequality gaps; and an
increasingly partisan education debate
far more rooted in political agendas than
in putting our children first.
The theme of the 2015 State of Black
America “Save Our Cities: Education,
Jobs + Justice” conveys the urgency of
focus around each of these areas and
their interconnectedness in our ongoing
quest for full equality in America.
So, what is the state of Black America
in 2015? In short, on many fronts, Black
America remains in crisis—and we see
justice challenged at every turn.
The world watched as nonindictments of the police officers
responsible for the deaths of unarmed
Black males including Eric Garner,
Michael Brown and John Crawford
signaled that police accountability

for taking Black lives was reaching
a mode ɸ