New York, NY, July 19, 2004—Seven of the nation's top African-American executives will address the National Urban League's 2004 Annual Conference at the COBO Center in Detroit, Michigan on Thursday, July 22 on strategies for succeeding in corporate America and in entrepreneurship. Earl G. Graves, Sr., Chairman and CEO, Earl G. Graves, Ltd. and publisher, Black Enterprise Magazine, will moderate the session titled, "Succeeding: The African-American Corporate Executive's and Entrepreneur's Perspective." This year's conference theme is Empowerment: Building on the Civil Rights Movement and is expected to draw some 15,000 attendees. The conference will convene Wednesday, July 21 through Sunday, July 25. Registration is available via website at www.nul.org and by telephone (800-263-9926).
The National Urban League is the nation's largest civil rights and community based organization. With over 100 affiliates in 35 states, the National Urban League serves 2 million people in the African American and urban communities nationwide.
Panelists include Dave Bing, NBA legend and Chairman and CEO, the Bing Group; Roderick D. Gillum, Vice President/Corporate Diversity, General Motors Corporation and Host Committee Chairman, Detroit Urban League; Don H. Barden, President & CEO, The Barden Cos. Inc.; Kim Goodman, Vice President/General Manager of Networking, Dell Computer Corporation; Janice Bryant Howroyd, President & CEO, Act I Group; Pamela Rodgers, President & CEO, Rodgers Chevrolet; and Dr. Thomas "Danny" Boston, Professor, School of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology.
"In response to the growing number of African-American CEOs and small businesses we have gathered some of the most successful African-American corporate leaders and entrepreneurs to give conference attendees the inside track on what it takes to thrive as an entrepreneur and in corporate America," said Marc H. Morial, National Urban League President & CEO. "Detroit's rich history in culture, entertainment and African-American business makes it the perfect venue to focus on the League's five-point empowerment strategy to serve even more people and continue the dialogue regarding issues that confront our communities."
Economic empowerment is a cornerstone of the organization's mission and it has placed increased emphasis on entrepreneurship, corporate mobility and asset building in the last several years. More African-American CEOs and corporate executives are heading America's corporations than at any other time, though the number of black CEOs remains low relative to other groups in the nation. Likewise, minority small businesses are growing at four times the rate of the general small business market. The session seeks to decode some of the strategies for making it in corporate America or succeeding at entrepreneurship if you are black or minority.
Conference highlights include an address by President George Bush and Democratic Presidential nominee Senator John Kerry, and the National Urban League president's keynote address. Other speakers include U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige; Jesse Jackson, Sr., Founder & President, Rainbow/PUSH Operation; the Honorable Kwame M. Kilpatrick, Mayor, the City of Detroit; Ann Fudge, CEO, Young & Rubicam Inc; Rosa Parks, mother of the modern-day civil rights movement; Dr. Charles J. Ogletree, Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Professor Derrick Bell, NYU School of Law; the Honorable Dennis W. Archer, President, American Bar Association; Cathy L. Hughes, Founder and Chairperson, Radio One, Inc.; Linda Johnson-Rice, President & CEO, Johnson Publishing Company; Donna Brazile, Managing Director, Brazile & Associates; the Reverend Al Sharpton, Founder, the National Action Network; Ted Shaw, Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; and Dr. Charles Adams, Pastor, Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, Detroit.
G. Richard Wagoner, Chairman, President and CEO, General Motors Corporation, is the 2004 Conference General Chairperson; Roderick D. Gillum, Vice President, Corporate Diversity, General Motors Corporation, is the Host Committee Chairman. The Detroit Urban League, under the leadership of N. Charles Anderson, is the host affiliate. Michael J. Critelli, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Pitney Bowes Inc. is the Chairman of the National Urban League. Michael K. Lee, Esq., is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Detroit Urban League.
Other conference highlights include five new Empowerment Exhibit Zones on Health, Employment, Technology, Homeownership, and Fun (Education & Learning) which are free and open to the public; the Women of Power Awards luncheon; the Unity '04 Rock the Vote Hip Hop Voter Empowerment Rally & Voter Registration Drive projected to register youth and young adults; a National Education Summit on the 50th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling; the annual Whitney M. Young, Jr. Conference Gala Special Tribute to Legends; the NULYP (National Urban League Young Professionals) Training Ground: A Next Generation Leadership Development Seminar; A NULITES (National Urban League Incentives to Excel and Succeed) Youth Summit; a Cultural Night featuring a Salute to Motown and performances by recording artists Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Ashford and Simpson and The Miracles. The nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Sky Show will also broadcast live from the conference.
New additions to the conference include a Wellness Walk, an Urban League Book Drive for Detroit Youth; a Behind the Business Tour of Detroit's African-American businesses; and a historic bus tour of Detroit, which will include the original Motown Studio and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African History. In addition, strategic vision forums will address empowering the black male, closing the achievement gap, best diversity practices, health disparities in the African-American community, America's workforce crisis and reinvestment for urban communities.
National Urban League conference activities open to registered guests include the President's keynote address, Wednesday, July 21 from 6:00 p.m. through 8:00 p.m.; and the annual Whitney M. Young, Jr. Conference Gala Special Tribute to Legends. The free Career Fair, located in the Employment Zone, features more than 100 Fortune 500 and high-tech companies, as well as non-profit and government agencies with both local and national job opportunities.
