I hope to learn much from you today. I am gratified that among the leaders we have in this endeavor, and who will be speaking today, are Hugh Price, President and CEO of the National Urban League, Margaret Simms of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, John Oxendine, Chairman and CEO of Blackstar Communications, Tom Espinoza, Vice President of La Raza, the Reverend Charles Stith, President of the Organization for a New Equality, and Robert Pincus, President and CEO of Franklin National Bank. We meet at a favorable time in our nation's history. The world is largely at peace. The expansion of our economy is now in its seventh year.
Inflation is low, and employment and job creation are at record highs.
But our nation's prosperity has been uneven. Too many Americans have been unable to share in the general increase in wealth and living standards. This is unacceptable. We cannot boast of being a healthy nation if we are a nation of haves and have-nots, where abject deprivation coexists with plenty. We cannot boast of being a just society when children are going to bed hungry.