March 9, 2016
Page 7
O PINION
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21st Century Agenda for Jobs and Freedom
Evaluating the
candidates for
president
m arC h. m orial
With American cit-
izenship comes great
responsibility. Since
the birth of this nation,
every four years we
decide who will take
on the mantle of president. No de-
cision we make as citizens could
have a more profound impact on
our lives—and in the broader in-
ternational arena.
When we determine who will
take on the role of commander in
chief, we effectively decide our
national priorities, our agenda and
under what political philosophy
we wish to be governed. Voting
for a president is neither an exer-
cise to be taken lightly or under-
taken in blissful ignorance. Every
four years, you are challenged to
choose the candidate who pro-
motes your agenda.
At the National Urban League,
our agenda revolves around edu-
cation, jobs and justice. This is not
about endorsing candidates; it’s
about endorsing democracy. This
is not about endorsing a particu-
lar politician; it’s about endorsing
by
those ideas that benefit communi-
ties of color, benefit our cities and
benefit all low-income and work-
ing-class Americans.
The National Urban
League, along with the heads
of eight other historic civil
rights organizations, recent-
ly met with democratic pres-
idential candidates Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton and
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sand-
ers to hear their respective
platforms and to promote our re-
spective agendas.
In addition to myself the meet-
ings included Melanie Campbell,
National Coalition on Black
Civic Participation; Cornell W.
Brooks, NAACP; The Rev. Al
Sharpton, National Action Net-
work; Kristen Clarke, Lawyers’
Committee for Civil Rights
Under Law; Wade Henderson,
Leadership Conference on Civil
and Human Rights; Benjamin L.
Crump, National Bar Associa-
tion; Sherrilyn Ifill, NAACP Le-
gal defense and Education Fund;
and Ingrid Saunders Jones and
Janice Mathis, National Council
of Negro Women.
The political truth is that, today,
a candidate for the office of presi-
dent will find it almost impossible
to win a nomination without the
support of African-American and
Hispanic voters. Communities of
color are a large voting bloc and
their concerns must be acknowl-
edged as vital, top-of-the-agenda
items.
We covered much of those
items with the would-be-presi-
dents using the coalition’s “21st
Century Agenda for Jobs and
Freedom” as a framework. The
public policy paper, developed
almost five years ago in a series
of meetings attended by nearly 60
leading civil rights, social justice,
business and community leaders
in Washington, D.C., identified
five urgent domestic goals for our
nation:
1. Achieve Economic Parity for
African-Americans; 2. Promote
Equity in Educational Opportuni-
ty; 3. Protect and Defend Voting
Rights; 4. Promote a Healthier
Nation by Eliminating Healthcare
Disparities; and 5. Achieve Com-
prehensive Criminal Justice Sys-
tem Reform.
Both of the candidates spoke
candidly on a host of these is-
sues—and more. Both of the can-
didates demonstrated an ability to
speak fluently and fluidly on the
topics of race relations and racial
inequality, and how the enduring
pairing of the two has had a dev-
astating impact on communities of
color all around our nation. It was
important for those of us gathered
around the table to understand
that as the first Black family to
reside in the White House moves
out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,
the concerns of Black Americans
and underserved communities ar-
en’t swept under the rug behind
them–to paraphrase my esteemed
colleague Rev. Al Sharpton of Na-
tional Action Network.
Our goal is to help set an agen-
da for the next president, but that
agenda will ultimately be set with
every individual vote cast. You
have a seat at the table too. Find
out where the candidates stand on
the issues that are important to you
and cast a vote—and make sure
your family and friends are doing
the same—because your vote is
your access to the proverbial ta-
ble. It is your unique opportunity
to let the candidates know what is
most important to you.
I hope this will not be the last
meeting between civil rights
groups and presidential candi-
dates. The invitations have been
sent and we look forward to more
conversations, because in politics,
there are no permanent allies or
permanent enemies, only perma-
nent interests.
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive officer of the
National Urban League.
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