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Leaders: Today's blacks still struggling, need unification
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published February 11, 2007
HAMPTON, Va. - Beneath an oak tree on the campus of what is now Hampton University, historians say, Virginia blacks heard a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and began to dream of a better life. On Saturday, more than 8,000 people returned to the historically black university to chart how far they have come. They gathered for the State of the Black Union, an annual traveling town hall that is considered a barometer for black America's ills. Today's black Americans grapple with political apathy, limited business strength and a lack of motivation, a panel of black leaders said Saturday. "We need a big idea that unifies us all," said Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress. The panel also included the Rev. Al Sharpton and former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, the nation's first elected black governor. They spoke of a black America adrift. Black men are more common in prisons than on college campuses, they said. Black children are increasingly born into single-parent homes. Others pointed to a lack of personal responsibility among blacks who, they said, were too busy waiting for leadership to make change. "I didn't have to wait for people to tell me it was my time to run for governor - it was my time," Wilder said, encouraging other blacks to take similar personal initiative. "We can't stop here." During the discussion, Sen. Barack Obama announced his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. The announcement drew mixed reactions from the panelists, with some questioning why Obama has drawn such strong support from whites. Others said it was irrelevant to the conference's goals. "Quite frankly it's too early to talk about a presidential campaign," Wilder said. "What we should be doing is talking about what we do in our own home." The auditorium was packed with people, many waving their arms and clapping as the speakers tackled tough topics. Renita Seabrook, a professor at the University of Maryland, considered the forum an important planning session for addressing issues like education. "So many of our black boys have been expelled" from schools, she said. "We've got to get a handle on the reason why."
[Last modified February 11, 2007, 01:49:34]
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