New York, NY, July 20, 2004 —The National Urban League will feature the Honorable Kwame M. Kilpatrick, Mayor of the City of Detroit, at its 2004 annual conference in Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Kilpatrick will deliver remarks at the National Council of Urban League Guilds Leadership Luncheon on Friday, July 23 at 12:30 p.m. at the COBO Center. The theme of the conference is Empowerment: Building on the Civil Rights Movement and is expected to draw 15,000 attendees from across the nation and the region. Registration is now open and 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 through direct services, advocacy and research.

“As one of our nation’s major economic engines and home to the Detroit Urban League for nearly nine decades Detroit is the ideal 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 community,” said Marc H. Morial, National Urban League President and CEO. “We look forward to Mayor Kilpatrick’s address to our movement.”

The National Urban League 2004 Annual Conference takes place Wednesday, July 21 through Sunday, July 25 at the COBO Center. The Detroit Urban League, under the leadership of N. Charles Anderson, is the host affiliate. G. Richard Wagoner, Chairman, President and CEO, General Motors Corporation will serve as the 2004 Conference Chairperson. Roderick D. Gillum, Vice President/Corporate Diversity, General Motors Corporation is the Host Committee Chairman. The National Council of Urban League Guilds Leadership Luncheon is sponsored by AT&T and Sears, Roebuck and Co. The Urban League annual conference was last held in Detroit in 1988.

Conference highlights include the National Urban League President’s Keynote address, Wednesday, July 21 from 6:00 p.m. through 8:00 p.m.; and an address by President George Bush, Friday, July 23 at 10.00 a.m. and Democratic Presidential nominee Senator John Kerry on Thursday, July 22 at 10:00 a.m. Other speakers include U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige; Jesse Jackson, Sr., Founder & President, Rainbow/PUSH Operation; Ann Fudge, Chairman & 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 District; 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, National Action Network; Ted Shaw, Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; and Dr. Charles Adams, Pastor, Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, Detroit.

Other conference highlights include five new Empowerment Exhibit Zones on Health, Employment, Technology, Homeownership, and Fun (Education & Learning) that are free and open to the public; the Women of Power Awards luncheon; the Vote 2004: Hip Hop Voter Empowerment Rally & Voter Registration Drive 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 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 3-kilometer Wellness Walk targeting community health empowerment; 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; 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. Job seekers can have face-to-face discussions and interviews with recruiters.

More information about the National Urban League’s 2004 Annual Conference registration, exhibitor or sponsorship opportunities is available on the League’s website at www.nul.org or by calling (800-263-9926).

About Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick

Kwame M. Kilpatrick is the youngest mayor in the history of the City of Detroit, and the youngest mayor of any major U.S. city. Before his election as mayor in 2001, Kilpatrick was the first African American in the history of Michigan to lead any party in the legislature.