New York, NY, August 21, 2003—National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial today announced the League\'s support and recommitment to the fight for equality and economic opportunity for all citizens as part of the commemoration of 40^thanniversary of the historic March on Washington that were observed last weekend.

Beginning on Friday, August 22 with a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the 40^th anniversary featured a series of special events, including two National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality sponsored "Teach-Ins" on criminal and economic justice.

Dr. William Spriggs, Executive Director of the National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality was a featured speaker at the Economic Justice Teach-In and James Lanier, Senior Resident Scholar for the National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality participated in the Criminal Justice Teach-In. Both Teach-Ins took place on the Washington Mall, adjacent to the Reflecting Pool.

During the "Teach-Ins", the National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality distributed a copy of its comprehensive African American Fact Book. Using a series of charts and graphs, the Fact Book depicts the many changes African Americans have experienced since the 1963 March on Washington, and the many things that have remained the same. Topics covered included civil rights, criminal justice, civil liberties, jobs and education.

"In 1963, The National Urban League played an instrumental role in the planning of the March of Washington. Its visionary president, Whitney M. Young, Jr., spoke about the issues of joblessness, equal opportunity, and the lack of access to education and affordable housing for African Americans," Mr. Morial said.

"Although we have made much progress, an equality gap still persists in America today and we must recommit and re-dedicate ourselves to the fight for equality and economic opportunity that brought hundreds of thousands of Americans of all races, ages and faiths to march forty years ago."

Led by civil rights leaders who the press dubbed "the big six"-A. Philip Randolph, international president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, president of the Negro American Labor Council, and vice president of the AFL-CIO; Whitney M. Young, Jr., president of the National Urban League; Roy Wilkins, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); James Farmer, founder and president of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); John Lewis, president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); and Martin Luther King Jr. founder and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)-the August 28, 1963 March on Washington attracted an estimated 250,000 people for a peaceful demonstration to promote Civil Rights and economic equality for African Americans.

Some forty years later, the National Urban League remains committed to empowering and helping African Americans achieve economic parity and closing the equality gap in education, health, housing and employment, through advocacy, community based programs and research.

Last weekend\\\'s 40^th Anniversary events kick off a 15-month campaign leading up to the 2004 elections. Other activities during this period will include voter registration rallies across the nation beginning on January 19, 2004 (Dr. King\\\'s birthday); the 40^th Anniversary Circle of Light and Truth Demonstration during the President\\\'s State of the Union (Jan 20, 2004); Mobilization Conclaves and Presentations at Democratic and Republican Conventions (June & July 2004); and a 40^thAnniversary March on Ballot Boxes in Every Voting Precinct in America (Tuesday, Nov. 2^nd, 2004).