National Urban League Brings The Economic Empowerment Tour to Atlanta December 9th

Tour focuses on job attainment and growth, home ownership and economic stability.

NEW YORK, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Urban League Economic Empowerment Tour heads to Atlanta on Tuesday, December 9th from 4pm - 9pm at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue. Presented by the National Urban League and the Atlanta Urban League, the tour features empowering workshops and a lively town hall meeting entitled The Path to Empowerment.

The tour focuses on job attainment and growth, home ownership, and economic stability, particularly in this time of government transition and economic down-fall. In these troubling economic times, the tour seeks to heighten awareness of economic disparities that exist between minorities and whites and connect people with real tools and resources that will help improve their financial situation on all fronts - from landing a better-paying job to avoiding foreclosure. The event opens at 4pm with a career and resource fair and concludes with a town hall meeting starting at 7:00pm.

The Path to Empowerment town hall meeting will address some of the important issues that face all Americans and features National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial; Hip Hop Summit Action Network CEO and Co-Chairman Dr. Benjamin Chavis; Atlanta's famed V-103 FM radio personality Frank Ski; Atlanta Urban League President Nancy Flake Johnson; CEO of the Douglin Group and foreclosure expert, author, and spokesperson for the American Homeowner's Association, Carla Douglin; President & CEO of the Atlanta Business League Leona Davenport and nationally-syndicated radio personality Warren Ballantine. The panel will be moderated by award winning journalist Ed Gordon.

The Career & Resource Fair will provide actionable information to attendees interested in employment, personal finances, home ownership, entrepreneurship and education/job training. Exhibitors will include banks, homeownership organizations, educational institutions/job training programs, entrepreneurship/small business resources and others who will be available to cover topics ranging from understanding credit to how to manage home mortgage loans to securing employment, upgrading education and job skills and entrepreneurship.

"The need for economic empowerment is not exclusive to the African American community. Americans of all walks of life, colors, religions and economic background are feeling the pinch of the ever-widening gap between the haves and have-nots in this nation," said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. "In light of this competitive yet uncertain global economy, we owe it to future generations to stand as role models of economic empowerment, especially during these times, and encourage them to prepare themselves for a more prosperous future."

On the thresh-hold of the inauguration of the country's first African-American president, new leadership preparing to be installed on Capitol Hill, and the current financial crisis causing uncertainty in the financial markets, the Economic Empowerment Tour is also designed to provoke U.S. decision-makers to put the issue of economic inequality on the national agenda.

"There is no doubt that economic empowerment is at the core of the 21st century civil rights movement. In the 1950s and 1960s, African Americans made great strides on numerous fronts. The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act paved the way for greater political and civic participation. Affirmative Action opened the doors of the nation's educational institutions and corporations," said Marc H. Morial.

"The final challenge our community faces in achieving equality in the United States is improving our bottom line. We need to equip ourselves with the tools and skills needed to raise our standard of living and close the economic divide existing between us and mainstream America," he added.

    Event Schedule at-a-glance:
    Career and Resource Fair/Financial
     Literacy and Homeownership Workshops                 4:00pm
    Press Avail/Photo Opp                                 6:30pm
    Town Hall Meeting                                     7:00pm

National Urban League (www.nul.org) Established in 1910, The Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream. Today, the National Urban League, headquartered in New York City, spearheads the non-partisan efforts of its 100+ local affiliates located throughout the country.

    CONTACT: Renee E. Warren/ 646.344.2630
    Noelle-Elaine Media, Inc.

SOURCE National Urban League

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