Although we have made progress, the American Dream is receding into the distance for too many Americans. As the National Urban League's President, Hugh Price, pointed out in his address to the League's national convention last summer, one out of six Americans lack health insurance. The black unemployment rate remains about twice that of whites - higher for young adults. The gap in computer ownership among working class white and black families has actually grown during the last five years. Black entrepreneurs seeking small business loans are rejected twice as often as whites with the same credit rating.
Police brutality continues to plague people of color.
When the American people cast our votes later this year, we will be doing something beyond choosing a new President and Congress. We will be making a decision about civil and human rights in America. African Americans are denied full justice in each of the areas that the Urban League has targeted. It is equally apparent, however, that only 3 or 4 of the Urban League's 10 commandments for change address problems that are unique to African American communities. Now, as in Dr. King's time, justice for African Americans is inextricably bound up with achieving justice for all Americans.