“Whether we call it recovery, rehabilitation, or relief, it
is past time for our government to demonstrate that very
same commitment to our own struggling urban families and
communities that was shown when Europe needed rebuilding
after the World War II, Afghanistan following the War on
Terror, and Wall Street during the financial crisis,” said
Marc H. Morial, National Urban League’s President and CEO.
“Urban communities and infrastructure have been shattered,
not by bombs and tanks, but by malfeasance and indifference.
The Jobs and Justice Act, which incorporates the Main Street
Marshall Plan, is the legislative solution to strategically
and comprehensively rebuild urban and rural America.”
The tour is named after the CBC’s comprehensive 1,300-page
Jobs and
Justice Act of 2018,
which was introduced by CBC Chairman Cedric L. Richmond
(LA-02) in May and includes the National Urban League’s Main
Street Marshall Plan to address economic and social
inequities and injustices, as well as individual pieces of
legislation introduced by almost every member of the CBC.
Both the National Urban League and the CBC hope the
legislation will serve as a guiding light for any White
House, major legislative caucus, or member of Congress who
claims to care about Black, urban or rural communities.
“Some folks would have you believe that our community is
doing well because African-American unemployment is at a
historic low, which is the result of policies and programs
implemented by the Obama Administration. But the
African-American unemployment rate is not a good barometer
of our community’s success. When African-Americans were
slaves and sharecroppers, African-American unemployment was
0 percent, but I don’t think anyone would say that our
community was doing well then,” CBC Chairman Cedric L.
Richmond said. “As a result of racism and discrimination in
our country, African-Americans still face a number of
economic and social barriers that the federal government can
and should help our community address since it was and still
is complicit in building them. Although we have come a long
way, we still have a long way to go, and the Jobs and
Justice Act of 2018 will help us get there.”
Initial Tour Dates
Michigan
Host:
Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan
-
Event Information
-
Thursday, August 23, 2018, 10:00 – 11:30 AM ET
-
Luella Hannan Memorial Foundation Building (Hannan
House), 4750 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201
-
Participants
-
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14)
-
N. Charles Anderson, President and CEO, Urban League
of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan
Pennsylvania
Host:
Urban League of Philadelphia
· Event Information
o Friday, September 7, 2018, 5:00 – 7:00 PM ET
o PICO (Energy Hall), 2301 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
· Participants
-
Rep. Dwight Evans (PA-02)
-
Andrea Custis, President and CEO, Urban League of
Philadelphia
-
National Urban League President and CEO Marc H.
Morial
More cities will be announced in the coming weeks.
###
Overview of the National Urban League’s Main Street Marshall
Plan
African-Americans were disproportionately battered by the
Great Recession and have benefited least from the fragile
economic recovery that followed. The Black unemployment
rate remains double the rate for whites. Black Americans
continue to lag behind in wealth, income and homeownership,
and across all educational levels.
The Main
Street Marshall Plan: From Poverty to Shared Prosperity
is a forward-leaning investment of $4 trillion over 10 years
– $2 trillion for physical infrastructure such as roads,
bridges and buildings, and $2 trillion for human
development, such as education, job training and health
insurance. The Main Street Marshall Plan is aimed not only
at combating poverty but at promoting equality and
eliminating disparities.
· The National Urban League’s Main Street Marshall Plan
is included in Division A, Title I of the CBC’s Jobs and
Justice Act of 2018. The full plan can be found
here.
Overview of CBC’s Jobs and Justice Act of 2018
Jobs
· Invests $100 billion in public schools for physical
and digital infrastructure improvements.
· Includes the 10-20-30 formula to direct additional
resources to communities with a history of high poverty.
· Provides tax incentives for hiring young people,
veterans, and the unemployed.
· Raises the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
· Expands access to the New Markets Tax Credit.
· Creates local incubators for small businesses and
startups.
· Strengthens Pell Grant funding.
· Invests in emergency relief to address homelessness
and increases access to mortgage financing.
· Modernizes the HBCU Capital Financing Program.
· Provides $7.5 billion dollars to upgrade water
infrastructure systems.
Justice
· Eliminates mandatory minimums for federal drug
offenses.
· Establishes a national commission on solitary
confinement.
· Bans the box for ex-offenders.
· Gives ex-offenders access to Pell Grants, TANF, and
SNAP.
· Abolishes the federal death penalty.
· Ends racial profiling.
· Decriminalizes marijuana and establishes a
reinvestment fund for communities negatively impacted by the
War on Drugs.
· Makes mid-term and presidential elections federal
holidays.
· Restores the Voting Rights Act.
· Provides $7.5 billion dollars to upgrade water
infrastructure systems.
· Clarifies the Dickey Amendment to allow federal
research on the intersection of gun violence and mental
health.
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