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A P ROP OS AL POR EXPANDED, IN DEPTH, URBAN LEAGUE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION SERVICES IN AREAS OF ATLANTA SIMILAR TO THE ONES OF THE CURRENTLY MANIFESTED RACIAL UNREST (SUMMERHILL REGION) TARGET AREAS SUfvlJ,JERHILL - MECHANICSVILLE PITTSBURG EAST CENTRAL PERRY HOMES SEPTEMBER 15, 1966 �PROGRAM PROPOSAL FOR EXPANDED, IN DEPTH, URBAN LEAGUE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION SERVICES IN AREAS OF ATLANTA SIMILAR TO THE ONES OF THE CURRENTLY MANIFESTED RACIAL UNREST (SUMMERHILL REGION) The Urban League movement, against a background of national experience and expert knowledge in corn:1UD.ity assessment and practical program planning is sensitive to the signs and symbols of community vulnerability to the kinds of outbrea ks that Atlanta has witnessed in the Summerhill area during the past few days. Again the Urban League warns against the embarrassment of hurried and stop-gap measures. Such mistakes of countless urban communities facing these specific kinds of problems serve as a guide for the Atlanta Urban League to do effective planning for the prevention and removal of the known glaring problems persisting and untouched by programs of pure ly passing and opiating impact in Metropolitan Atlanta. We continue to insist tha t the problems focused by the Summerhill outbreak are of a nature addressing themselves with unquestioning clarion call for a total mobilization of community resources to reach the basic problems to effectuate substantive solutions. Qui ck a nd momentarily soothing programs, however appropriate to get such communiti es back to a leve l of r eceptivity for participation in organized, di s ci plined and democr atically based procedures for community l eadership involvement i n se l f-he l p pr ograms ar e , of necessity, limited to just such y ield . The mi s t akes of Wa tts (Los Ange les , Ca li f ornia) as follow- up studies have demonstrated, are in two important ca t egorie s : (1) That t he effor t s of pub l ic- based (governmental ) agencies, l imited a s they are in the permissive breadth of involvement and depth of programming and organization, cannot a l one satisfy the hard-core needs of such a situation. (2) That because of the exi stence of the very network of public o~encies , despite their limitations, the strengthening of the operational bases of private agencies of experience has been greatly neglected. �2 We, The Atlanta Urban League, Inc., therefore, are calling immediately upon the National Urban League, the City of Atlanta, the Metropolitan Atlanta Community Services, and other available resources, to join forces in veering away from the futile course of other cities of the nation in attacking the Summerhill problems by supplementing the currently evolving emergency programs with more basically problem-oriented programs, so characteristically lacking in the approaches of similarly situated cities of the nation. Admittedly, what the Urban League proposes in the following recommendation is not a program of over-night returns. Indeed, we warn that the basic problems of Summerhill and other known communities in Atlanta of similar vulnerability do not lend themselves to over-night solutions. Human attitudes, chanGeableonly by the skillful techniques of indoctrination in a faith and methodology of gri evance -pleading within the framework of existing political and social welfare channels are developed through the knowledge of and guidance into effective processing of such crievonces . However, the rewards in the instilling of self-help possibilities, and the working experience of leadership of such communities with the complex of broad community agencies of responsibilities f i xes the lines of communica tion and fa ith in .total community concern with the problems of troubled areas, and serves, through i nevitable achievements , to stabilize such pocket communities in the f ace of ons l aught fr om exploitative purposed inf luences. PROJECTED PROGRAM The Atlanta Urban League, Inc., therefore, proposes the following demonstration program for consideration in the Summerhill area to later expand to all similar areas in Atlanta establishing field unit offices. The expansion of the services. of The Atlanta Urban League, Inc., through the �3 establishment of a staffed Unit Field office(s) to: 1. Take immediate action in the formulation of Urban League - method oriented neighborhood organizations. A. Through these neighborhood units, serviced on a continuing basis by trained Urban League personnel, broader leadership / ~ lf.}~ can be trained to: (1) V; if Serve as an on-going source of knowledge on both positive and negative developments in the community. (2) More importantly, to serve as the continuing ~ ~ channel for the implementing of programs geared er to the needs of the people. tract data and attitudinal information for effective programming. 3. To bring to the community practical knowledge of services available for meeting personal and group needs. 4. To develop on-going inter - agency communication on accomplishments a nd emer gency needs. To utilize the experience s and broad s kills in program planning a nd innovating gained by the National Ur ban League program developme nt staff for consultative involvement in e ffective ness of experiment a l pr ograms of seventy-five (75) urban communiti es t hr oughout t he nat ion, i n stabilizing efforts of such communities . All of these recommendations, are, of cour se, based upon the findings of researched needs, and the adaptabi l ities of selective programs to the community. 1 I �4 Needless, to point out, t he program emphases will fall wit hin the f our basic program areas in which the Urban League operates: & Employment, Health & Housing, Economic Development Welfare, and Education & Youth Incentives - - on an inten- sive and on-going basis. A very special effort will be made to identify and counsel new residents of Atlanta in these areas. The services offered will be different than, but off ered in cooperation with, other services available to the community. The services will be problem oriented and will include leadership development; employment opport,un:l.'l,ico i.u t,1.J.<-- 1n, 1..on.f'.A Urban League's Skills Bank"; training opportunities through the Atlanta Urban League's Manpower Development and Training Act (On-The,:_Job Training Project); vocational and educational counseling through the Atlanta Urban Le ague 's "See Industry In Action' ' Progr am; improved living condition and relocation through the Atlanta Urba n League 's housing program, and parental health and welf are assis t ance through the Atlant a Urban Lea gue's ENABLE (Educa t ion a nd Ne i ghborhood Ac t ion For A Better Living Environment) Program. Emphasis will be placed on the reside nts becoming knowl edgeable and mot ivated t o identif y t heir needs and to take positive cooperative action, without anger a nd v iole nce, to sa tis fy t he se nee ds. The Ur ban League 's motto "Amer ican Teamwork Works " will a l ways be ma ni fe s ted. Th i s will mean a ctive and v isible participation, at the "gras s r oot " leve l by r e spons i ble white a nd Negro cit izens •• • an i mpor tant f a ctor i n deve loping fa ith bet ween the ra ce s . An exampl e of this would be "top" employer represent a tive s working in the c ommunit ies thr ough the Atlanta. Urban League's fie l d uni t office a.s a part of our "Skills Bank" operation, and employer s we lcoming prospective employees in their plants, as a part of our "See Industry In Action" Pr ogram. ~ ~r~~ �