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The Urban Coalition I. ing ment Ac o The " 0 - s h owinq in man_ December 1968 I , t:atij F Community '] J The fallo wing statement is an excerpt from a recent speech by John W. Gardner, chairman of the Urban Coalition: difficulty in even formulating their probl~ms? Long before the riots, it was apparent to everyone who studied these-matters closely that communities so riven could not weather a storm without cracking wide open. Today one of the gravest handicaps to the The storms came-and they cracked wide local community, one of the things that prevents open. One after another. Like aU structures it from pursuing any of its purposes effectively, under stress they cracked along the lines of is the fragmentation of the community itselftheir internal weaknesses. The rift between and the fragmen tation of community leadership. black an d white communities was usually the I saw_ this at firsthand when, as Secretary of main issue but when the city tried to pull itself Health, Education and Welfare, I had to visit all together to face that issue, it found its capacity of our major cities-and many not so major. to do so greatly diminished by the other rifts I found that the typical American city was split within tbe community-between business and up into a variety of different worlds that were labor, between suburb and central city, between ,1 police and c iti?Pn h ~•---_ l:,1. __ • ~- -- ition . Id only to a tot~! that would y1e lition itself is attack.

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coal areas, if only moving m severa in small ways. · ted School Aid ~::p:du<;ation For example, Dr. James division, headed _bre professor . an assoc1a . SUP" Kelly, b" University, is funds and re·a t Colum t~ porting with ·t that ·could search a Jawsu~he method by radically....-.n change t"tes allocate c_t L ! - \.. ~ �The Urban Coalition 1819 H Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 �Steering Committee of The Urban Coalition John W. Gardner Chairman Andrew Heiskell Co-Chairman A. PhiLip Randolph Co-Chairman I. W. Abel President United Steelworkers of America Pittsburgh, Pa. Honorable Ivan Allen Jr. Mayor {\.tlanta, Ga. Joseph H . Allen President McGraw-H:ill Publications New York, N.Y. Arnold Aronson Leadership Conference on Civil Rights · National Community Relations Advisory _Council NewYo.rk; N.Y. Roy Ash President Litton Industries Beverly Hills, Calif. Jordan Band Chairman National Community Relations Advisory Council Cleveland, Ohio Honorable Joseph M. Barr Mayor Pittsburgh, Pa. Honorable Jerome P. Cavanagh Mayor Detroit, Mich. Frederick J. Close Chairman of the Board Aluminum Company of America Pittsburgh, Pa. H.oiiorable John F. Collins Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Mass. Honorable Richard J. Daley Mayor Chicago, Ill. T he Most Reverend Joh n F. Dearden Archbishop of Detroit Detroit, Mich. �Dr. Arthur Flemming President, N ational Council of Churches . President, Macalaster Co!Jege St. Paul, Minn. Henry Ford 11 Chairman Ford Motor Company Dearbor,n, Mich. Honorable Milton Graham Mayor Phoenix, Ariz. The Most Reverend George H . Guilfoyle · Bishop, Diocese of Camden Camden, N .J. Dr._Edler G. Hawkins Pastor St. Augustine Presbyterian Church New York, N.Y. · Andrew Heiskell Chairman of the Board Time Inc. New York, N.Y: Jphn: H . Johnson President Johnson Publishing · Cpmpany Chicago, Ill. Joseph D . Keenan Secretary International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Washington, D .C . A. Philip Randolph President Emeritus . International Brot herhood of Sleeping Car Porters New York, N.Y. Walter Reuther President United Auto Workers Detroit, Mich. David. Rockefeller President Chase Manhattan Bank New Y ork, N.Y. James Rouse President The Ro.use Company Baltimore, Md. Rabbi Jacob P. Rudin President Synagogue Council of America New York, N.Y. TheodoFe Schlesinger President Allied Stores Corporation N ew York, N .Y. A~a T. Spaulding D irector North -Carolina Mutu.al Insurance Company Durham, N .C. David Sullivan President Service Employees International Union Washington, D.C. Honorable John V . Lindsay Mayor New York, N.Y. Honorable James H . J. Tate Mayor Philadelphia, Pa. George Meany President AFL-CIO Washington, D.C. John Wheeler President, Mechanics and .. Farmers Bank President, Southern Regional Council Durham, N .C. J. Irwin Miller President Cummins Engine Company Columbus, Ind. Honorable Arthur Naftalin Mayor Minneapolis, Minn. James F. Oates Chairman of the Board Equitable Life Assurance Society New Yo.i:k, N .Y. Roy Wilkins Executive Director National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New York, N .Y. Whitney M. Young Jr. Executive Director National Urban-League New York, N.Y. ..,. �On August 24, 1967, at an emergency convocation in Washington, D .C., a prestigious group of 1,200 persons issued an urgent appeal on the urban crisis to all concerned Americans. They were men and women of diverse, even divergent interests, and yet they joined together in a national effort to mold a new political, social, economic, and moral climate that would help to break the vicious cycle of the ghetto. This effort-heavily dependent on local as well as national actionwas the beginning of the Urban Coalition. The immediate impetus was concern over the mounting violence in American cities, and a realization tha-t the problems confronting the cities were too large and too complex to be solved by a single segment of society acting alone. At the conclusion of the convocation, the participants, who included mayors and leaders in business, religion, labor, and civil rights, agreed on the urgent need for action on a broad statement of principles that became the charter of the Urban Coalition movement. This is what the statement adopted at the convocation said, in part : " We believe the American people and the Congress must reorder national priorities, with a commitment of resources equal to the magnitude of the problems we face. The crisis requires a new dimension of effo rt in both the public and private sectors, working together to provide jobs, housing, education, and the other needs of our cities. '·We believe the Congress must mo ve without delay on urban programs. The country can wait no longer fo r measures that have too lo ng been denied the people of the cities and the nation as a wholeadditional civil rights legislation, adequately funded model cities, anti-poverty, housing, education , and job-training programs, and a host of others. "We believe the private sector of America must directly and vigoro usly involve itself in the crisis of the cities by a commitment to investment, job-training and hiring, and all that is necessary to the full enjoyment of the free enterprise system- and also to its survival. ... 'This convocation calls upon local government, business, labor, religions, and civil rights grou ps to r Joseph H. Allen Arnold Aronson �create counterpart local coalitions where the y do not exist to ·support and supplement this decl aration of principles." The work of mobiliza tion began immedi atel y after the convocation ended , under the leadership of two co-chairmen: Andrew Heiskell, chairman of the board of Time Inc. , and A. Philip R andolph , president of the Intern ational Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. By yea r's end, communities across the country had responded by forming local Urban Coalitions , each structured to fit the particul ar needs of its city. In the spring of 1968, the national Urb an Coalition became a nonprofit, ta x-exempt corporation with John W . Gardner as its chairman and chief executive officer. The Coalition is governed by a steering committee of 38 national leaders represe ntative of the participants in the convocation. The Urban Coalition Action Counci l was se t up nationally as a separate non-profit organization to engage in direct advocacy of legislation a imed at meeting the problems of the cities. It is responsib le for a ll legislative activities. are needed . They have served as catalysts, marshaling broad community support and stimulating new ac tion programs while not operating them directly. The Coalition movement also provides a channel by which Coalition members and local groups may speak out on legisl ative issues at the national and state level affecting urban problems. Thus an Urb an Coalition is not a new organization , but a process , a means for joint action by the significant and diverse elements of the community. While the programs and structures of Urban Coalitions may vary to meet loc al priorities, the Coalitions share four essential characteristics: 1. Urban Coalitions have adopted a statement of principles which parallels that adopted by the organizers of the national Urban Coalition, tailored to the particular local situation. The national statement is broad enough to have received the endorsement of leaders from all major segments of urban society, from businessmen to civil rights ~rctivists , yet specific enough to give the Urban Coalition movement its essential form and direction . (For full text of statement, see appendix. ) 2. Urban Coalitions, as indicated by the statement of principles, are committed to a comprehensive at tack on all of the interrelated problems of their communitiespo verty, poor housing, in adequ ate ed ucation , racial tensions. A singlepurpose group such as a fairhousing council, even if it has wide community support, must expand its goals to other issues to become an Urban Coalition. 3. ln their m akeup, Urb an Coalitions are bro adl y representative of the leadership and li fe of th eir communities. As with the national Urb an Coalition, local Urban Coa litions include represe ntatives of business, labor, local government, re ligion , and civil rights o rgan iza tions . Most local Urb an Coalitions also include representati ves of ed ucation , the communications med ia, and estab li shed community organizations. It is essential that all include spokesmen for disadva ntaged and mi nority neighborhoods. 4. F in all y, Urban Coa litions must have th e resources to do an effective job. T hese reso urces include an adeq uate budget and an able (a lthough not necessa ril y large) staff. What is an Urban Coalition? The key word is " coalition": an alli ance of indi vi du als and orga niza ti ons drawn toge ther for specific purposes. An Urb an Coalition is a mechanism throu gh which individu al leaders and community groups can collaborate in dea ling with th e urban crisis. Jt is to meet all the complex and interwoven problems of our urban areas that Urban Coalitions are born. The elements of mod ern inJustri al soc iety have beco me so specia li zed and fr ag mented, and ye t so interdepe ndent, th at a new force is needed to pull the pieces together. No single element can solve the problems alone. The solution lies in joining the creativity, reso urces, a nd leadership of the private sector with those of the public sector. Ex ist ing Urban Coa liti ons have already demons trated their utilit y as forums for communication among the varied elements of comm unities and as instruments for comm unity ed ucation and action. T hey ha ve helped to assess community problems, establish goa ls and priorities, and coord inate program _ efforts. T hey have uncovered duplication of community efforts and identified gaps where new services ,. Joseph M. Barr Frederick J. Close �rate Coalitions. The Washington, D.C., Coalition has a metropolitan base, extending into the suburban counties in Virginia and Maryland. Since most of the problems confronted by a Coalition extend into the metropolitan areas-finding work for the unemployed, for example, requires a look at the job market both in the city and in its suburbs-these tasks are made easier if the Coalition is organized on a metropolitan basis. -The only criterion for the size of the steering committee is that it be large enough to do the job in the particular community. New York, With the national headquarters of many corporations, banks, and insurance Gompanies and its thousands of small employers, has 150 members, including spokesmen for community-action groups. Detroit, with one dominant industry, has 39. The first order of business before the steering committee is the drafting of a statement of principles. Once this is done and public announcement of the Urban Coalition's formation has been made, action should follow quickly. The community should know that it has The task of an Urban Coalition is a serious and complex one, and it dem ands a serious commitment of all involved. How an Urban Coalition Begins An Urban Coalition can start with one concerned and determined person-the mayor, a businessman, a labor leader-or out of discussions among several individuals or community organizations. As quickly as possible, however, the makeup of the organizing committee for an Urban Coalition should be spread across the entire spectrum of community leadership. The task of this initial group is to create the Coalition's steering committee, its policy- and programmaking body. These are some guidelines, drawn out of the experiences of Urban Coalitions to date, for selection of the steering committee members: - They need not have been previously identified with civic causes. One task of the Coalition, in fact, is to identify and enlist talent which may not previously have been at the service of the community. -They should include the community's most influential leadership. The most zealous efforts of churches, community-service organizations, and neighborhood groups will be wasted unless those who hold power in local government, business, labor, and communications are convinced of the need for action. - It also works the o ther way aro und. T he best efforts of the holders of power will be frustrated unless decisions are made with, rather than for, the disadvantaged in the community. The increasing drive for self-determination among the minorities and the poor is producing new and often militant neighborhood and youth organizations. If truly representative, the Coalition can provide the essential link between emerging neighborhood spokesmen and the established communitywide leadership. It can thus be a vehicle for both communication and common action, joining reso urces to needs. - The Coalition may represent a city, a metropolitan area, even a county. Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas C ity, Kan. , have found it advantageous to fo rm a joint U rban Coalition; the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis have formed sepa- George H.Guilfoyle -- Andrew Heiskell �acquired not just a forum for discussion of its problems, but a potentially powerful force for constructive change. In joining an Urban Coalition, the steering committee members may be working together for the first time, putting their special interests aside for the sake of the community. The better they get to know each other, the more productive their association will be. When the New York Urban Coalition was organizing, some 100 men went off to Tarrytown together on a weekend retre at. On neutral ground, the big insurance executive and the ghetto militant met, listened, and learned from each other. To get a program underway, the Co alition needs both money and staff. Initial funds may come most readil y from business and labor members , or the city government m ay make an interim contribution. In Minneapolis, the 14 business executives who had attended the August convocation each contributed $ 1,000 to get their program organized. The fund was used to hire two part-time professionals to help analyze objectives, organization structure, and fe asibility of Coalition action. Perm anent funding should come , however, from all segments of the Coalition. If one segn1ent is unable to contribute money, it might provide se rvices inste ad: staff members ca n be lo aned to the Coalition , office space contributed, stationery and supplies furnished. In developing their programs, Coalitions have found th at it is impo rt ant to mee t where the problems are. Visiting slums in H arl em helped se t priorities for action by the New York Urb an Coalition. Phil adelphia leaders saw things " they would not be lieve" when the m ayor too k 200 of them to visit the city's pockets o f poverty. The Urban Coalition in Action G ive n the va ri ations in needs from city to city, the ra nge of program possi bilities fo r Urban Coalitions ca n best be desc ribed by specific exam ples . In most cases, programs are p lan ned by task forces in the a reas of most p ressing concern. Most U rban Coa litions have started with task forces on employment, ho usin g, and ed ucation ; others have been added on econom ic develop- �ment (with the focus on encouraging entrepreneurship among ghetto residents), youth, problems of the aging, and communications. These are some of the progra ms th at Urban Coalitions have launched aro und the country: Concentrating its strongest efforts on helping the ghetto's small businessmen, the Baltimore Urban Coa lition has formed a business task force to help establish a Small Business Investment Corp.-a high-risk ven ture capital program with a projected $ 1 million operating fund . The task force has pulled together the talents of the Greater Baltimore Committee ( a 102-member business organization) to advise on the creatio n of business cooperatives, and local associations of acco untants, law yers, and retail merch ants to give tech nica l assistance to inexperienced ghetto entrepreneurs. In the middle of its organizing process , the Washington, D.C., Urban Coalition came into instant, full-grown existence in response to the April disorders which rocked the capital fo llowing the shooting of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. T he Coalition appointed emerge ncy committees on food, housin g, John V. Lindsay George Meany employme nt , and fin ancial assis tance; they made available 1,400,000 free meals, developed 1,000 job offers , fo und 800 dwellings for riotdisplaced persons and collected $ 146,000 in emergency aid funds. This emergency effort was followed by a call to provide logistical support to the Poor People's Campaign: delivering food to Resurrection City three times a day and providing med ical care, a recreation al progra m, and community se rvice volunteers. Jobs have been the chief focus of the Minneapolis Urban Coalition , workin g with the N ation al Alliance of Businessmen and the Chamber of Commerce. The results have included pledges to the NAB for I , I 00 summer jobs and the waiving of education-level requirements for line work by one of the area's major em ployers, Honeywell Inc. The Riverside (Calif.) Urban Coalition developed a Job Opportunities Council and persuaded eight of the city's largest employers to participate. With funding from the eight firm s, the Council was to find and ge t in touch with hard-core unemployed persons. It wou ld provid e or obtai n necessary training to qualify these applicants to meet lowered minimum hiring standards, then refer them to the firms. The eight co mp an ies planned to hire a num ber equivalent to 4 per ce nt of their present work force. A. housin g se minar sponsored by the Gary (Ind.) Urban Coa lition led to the decision by two ch urches to sponsor the construction of lowe rincome housing under federa l mortgage guarantees . Along with these efforts by the non-p rofit spo nsors, the area's major employer, U .S. Steel, announced its intention to build about 300 moderate-i nco me housin g units in the city. The Bridge port (Conn.) Urban Coa /irion's ac tin g T ask Force on Ed ucation formed an educational consort ium to ensure a co llege educa tion for all qu alifi ed students in the Brid ge port area. The consortium includ es the three pres id ents of pri vate universities who make up the Task Force and the presidents of four o ther institutions of higher learning in the region. A com mittee of admissions officers fro m the seve n parti cipat ing schools screens each appli cant a nd arra nges fo r his admiss ion to one of the co lleges. J. Irwin Miller �pressing their views on nation al and state legislative issues. Because most Urba n Coalitions seek taxdedu ctible contributions from such sources as community found ations, some have chosen to establish a separate organization, as the nation al group has, to carry out legislative progra ms on the scale needed. The Urban Coalition Action Council will provide assistance to others choosin g this course. The tasks of an Urban Coalition will not be easy, for they reflect the scale and complexity of the crisis situation facing the country. The search for solutions involves major commitments at every level- national, state, and local-and by all segments of society, public and private alike. Substantial public resources must be forthcoming if solutions are to be found, but so must significant private leadership. "Out of past emergencies, we have drawn strength and progress," said the founders of the U rban Coalition movement. "Out of the present urban crisis we can build cities that are places, not of disorder and despair, but of hope and opportunity." Appendix 1 Principles Goals Commitments ' Statem ent adopted at the f:mergency Con vocation, August 24, 1967, Washingt'on; D.C. ,:, We are experiene~g our third summer of widespread civil disorder. In 1965, it was H arlem, and the disas ter of Watts. In 1966, it was the H ough area of Cleveland, _Omaha, ~ tlanta, D ayton, San Francisco, and 24 other cities. This summer, Newark and Detroit were only the most tragic of 80 explosions of violence in the streets. Confronted by these catastrophic events, we, as representatives of business, labor, religion, civil rights, and local government have joined in this convocation to create a sense of national urgency on the need for positive action for all the people of our cities. We are united in the followin g convictions: We believe the tangible effects of the urban riots in terms of death , injury, and property damage, horrifying though they are, are less to be feared than the intangible damage to men's minds. We believe it is the government's duty to m ai ntain law and order. · We believe that our thoughts and actions should be dir ected to the deep-rooted and historic problems of the cities. We believe that we, as a nation , must clearly and positively demonstrate our belief that justice, -social Progress, and equality of opportunity are rights of every citizen. We believe the American people and the Congress m ust reorder national priorities, with a com mitment of resources equal to the m agnitude of the problems we face. The crisis requires a new dimension of effor t in both the public and private sectors, Working together to provide jobs, housing, education , and the other needs of our cities. We believe the Congress must move without delay on urban program . T he country can wait no - • A t the national le1·el, t wo separate o rgani:::.atio11s ha,·e been created: the U rba11 Co a/itio11 and the U rban Coalition Action Cou11ci/. Th e Actio n Council is responsible fo r th e impleme111ation of legislative goals and ob jectfres ex pressed in this s tatement. . �longer for measures that have too long beet). denied the peop)e of the cities and the nation as a wholeadditional civil rights legislation, adequately funded model cities, anti-poverty, housing, education, and job-training_ programs, and a host of others. We believe the private sector oi America must directly and vigorously involve itself in the crisis of the cities by a commitment to investment, jo~:>-training, and hiring, and all that is necessary .to the full enjoyment of the free enterprise system-and also to its survival. We . believe the sickness of the cities, including civic disorder within them, is the responsibility of the whole of America. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every American to join in the creation of a new· political, social, economic, and ·moral climate that will make possible the breaking of the vicious cycle of the ghetto. Efforts must be made to insure 1he broadest possible opportunity for all citizens and groups, including those in the ghetto, to participate fully in shaping and directing the society of which they a're a part. This convocation calls upon the nation ·to end once and for all the shame of poverty amid general affl uence. Government and business must accept responsibility to provide all Americans with opportunity to earn an adequate income. Private industry must greatly accelerate its efforts to recruit, train, and hire the hard-core unemployed. When the private sector is unable to provide employment to those who are both able and willing to work, then in a free society the government must of necessity assume the respo.nsibility and act as the employer of last resort or must ass ure adequate income levels for those who are unable to work. Emergency Work Program This convocation calls upon the federal government to develop an emergency work program to provide jobs and new training opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed consistent with the following principles : - The federal government must enlist the cooperation of government at all levels and of private industry to assure that meaningful, productiv7 work is available to everyone willing and able to work. - To create socially useful jobs, the emergency work program should concentrate on the huge backlog of employment needi:; in parks, streets, slums, countryside, _schools, colleges, libraries, and hospitals. To this end an emergency work program should be initiated and should have as its first goal putting at least one million of the presently unemployed into productive work-at the earliest possible moment. - The program must provide meaningful jobs-not dead-end, make-work projects-so that the employment experience gained adds to the. capabilities and -broadens the opportunities of the employees to become productive members of tfie permanent work force of our nation . -Basic education, training, and counseling must be an integral part of the program t-0 assure extended 0 ~~ortunities for upw,!rd job mobility and to improve employee productivity. Funds for training, edncation, and counseling should be ma_de availal:ile to private industry as Well as to public and private nonprofit agencies. -Funds for employment should be made available to local and state governments, non-profit institutions, and federal agencies able to demonstrate their ability to use labor productively without reducing existing l~vels of employment or undercuttin& existing labor standards or wages which prevail for comparable Work or services in the area but are not less than the federal minimum wage. - Such a program should seek to qualify new employees to become Part of Jhe regular work force and tbat normal performance standards are met. -The operation of the program should be keyed to specific, localized unemployment problems and focu ed initially on those areas where tl)e need is most apparent. Private -Employment, Assistance, and Investment All representatives of the private sector in this Urban Coalition decisively commit themselves to assi t th.e deprived among us to achieve _ful.l participatiQn in the economy as self-supporting citizens. We pledge full-scale private endeavor through creative job-training and employment, managerial assi tance, and - �basic investment in all phases of urban development. The alternatives to a massive and concerted drive by the private sector are clear. They include the burden of wasted human and physical potential, the deterioration of the healthy environment basic to the successful operation of any business, and the dangers of permanent alienation from our society of millions of citizens. We propose to ini,tiate an all-out attack on the unemployment problem through the following steps : - In cooperation .with government, to· move . systematically and directly into the ghettos and barrios to seek out the unemployed arid underemployed and enlist them in basic and · positive private training and employment program s. We will re-evaluate ou,r current testing proceclures and employment stand ards so as to modify or eliminate those practices and requirements· that unnecessarily bar many persons from gainful employment by business or access to union membership. - To create a closer relationship between private employers and public training and emergency employment pTograms to widen career op-_ portunities for our disadvantaged citizens. To this end, we will proceed immedi ately to promote "Earn and Learn Centers" in clepressed urban areas that might well be the joint venture of business, labor, and local government. - To develop new training and related programs to facilitate the earl y entry of under-qualified persons into industrial and commerci al employment. - To develop large-scale programs to motivate the young to continue their education. Working close ly with educators, we will redouble our efforts to provide parttime employment, training, and other incentives for young men and women. We also pledge ou r active support to making quality education really accessible to deprived as well as advantaged young people. - To ·expand on-the-job train ing programs to enhance the career adva ncement prospects of all employees, with particula r emphasis on those who now must work at the lowest level of job· cl assifications becau e of educational and ski ll deficiencies. We pledge to mobilize the man- agerial resources and experience of the private sector in every way possible. We will expand p art-time and full-time assistance to small business development. We will strive to help residents of these areas b'ath to raise their level of managerial know-how and to obtain private and public investment funds for development. We will work more closely with publi<.:: agencies to assist in the management of p·ublic projects. We will encourage more leaders in the private sector to get directly and personally involved in urban problems so that they may gain a deeper understanding of these problems and be -of greater assistance. We pledge our best efforts to de~elop means by which m ajor private investment m ay be attracted to the renovation of deteriorating neighborhoods in our cities. We will explore and en~ourage governmental incentive.s to ·expedite private investment. We will develop new methods of combining investment and managerial assistance so that the residents · m ay achieve a leadership position in the development of their areas. llousing, Reconstruction, and Education This convocation calls upon the nation to take bold and immediate action to fulfill the national need to provide "a decent borne and a suitable. living environment for every American family" with guarantees of equal access to all housing, new and existing. The Urban Coalition shall, as its next order of business, address itself to the development of a broad program of urban reconstruction and advocacy of appropriate public and private action to move toward these objectives, including the goal of rehabilitation and construction of at least a million housing units for lower-income families annually. T his convocation calls upon the nation to create educational progran;is that will equip all young Americans for full and productive ~articipation in our society to the full potential of their abilities. This Will require concentrated compensatory programs to equalize opportunities for achievement. Early chi ldhood education must be made Universal. Work and study progra ms must be greatly expanded to enlist those young people who now �drop out of school. Financial barriers that now deny to youngsters from low-income fa milies the opportunity for higher edu_cation must be eliminated. Current programs. must be increased suffi ciently to wipe out adult illiteracy within five years. This convocation ·calls upon local government, business, labor, religions, and civil rights · groups to create counterpar t· local coalit_ions where they do not exist to support and supplement this declaration of - principles. · This convocation call~ upon all Americans to apply the same determination to these programs that they have to past emergencies. We are con:!ident that, given this commitment,. our society has the ingenuity to allocate its resources arid devise the techniques necessary to rebuild cities and still meet our other na-_ tional obligations without impairing our fin ancial integri~y. Out of past emergencies, we have drawn strength and progress. Out of the present urban crisis we can build cities that are places, not of disorder and des-pa ir, but of hope and opportunity. The task we set for ourselves will not be easy, but the needs are massive and urgent, and the hour is late. We pledge ourselves to this goal for · as long as it takes to accomplish it. We ask the help of the Congress and the nation. .,. �1 - �