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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 cotlI'.lunity assessment and practical program planning is sensitive to the signs and symbols of community vulnerability to the kinds of outbreaks that Atlanta has witnessed in the Summerhill area during the past f ew 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 purely passing and opiating impact i n Metropolitan Atlanta. We continue to ins i st that the problems focused by the Summerhill outbreak are of a nature addressing themselves with unquestioning clarion call for a total mobil i zation of community resources t o reach the basic problems to effe ctua te subst antive solutions. Quick and moment arily soothing pr ograms, however appr opria te to get such communi t ies ba ck to a level of r eceptivit y f or participa tion i n organi zed , disci plined a nd democratically ba s ed pr oc edures f or community leader ship i nvolvement in self- help programs are, of necessit y, limited to just such yield. The mistakes of Watts {Los Angele s, Cal ifornia ) as fol low-up studies have demonstrated, ar e i n t wo important categories : (1) That the efforts of publ i c- based ( governmental) agencies , l imited as t hey ar e i n the permissive br ea dth of invol veme nt and depth of programming a nd organization, ca nnot alone satis fy the hard-c ore needs of such a situation . ( 2 ) That because of the existence of the very network of public o~encies, de spite their limita t i ons, the strengthening of the oper ational bases of private agencies of experience has been gr eatly neglected . �2 He., 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 ,,t1 143.215.248.55 futile ~ ~\r 'i ~~ ~ 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, chan~eableonly by the skillful techniques of indoctrination in a faith and methodology of gr i evanc e -pleading within the framework of existing political and social welfare channels are developed through the knowledge of and guidance into effective processing of such ~rievanc es . 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 fixes the lines of communication and faith in total communit y concern with the problems of troubled areas, and s erves, througb inevitable achievements , to s t abilize such pocket communities in the f ace of onsla ught fr om exploitative purposed influences . PROJECTED PROGRAM The Atlanta Urban League , Inc. , t herefore, propose s the foll owing 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 can be trained to: (1) Serve as an on-going source of knowledge on both positive and negative developments in the community. (2) More importantly, to s erve as the continuing channel for the implementing of programs geared to the needs of the people. 2. Engage in periodic research, both r e lating to changing census tract data and attitudinal informa tion for effective programming. 3. To bring to the community practical knowledge of services available for meeting personal and group needs. 4. To deve lop on-going inter- agenc y communi cation on accomplishments and emergency needs . 5. To utilize t he exper i ence s and broa d skills in pr ogram planning and innovating gained by the Nati ona l Urban League pr ogram development staff f or consultative involvement in effectiveness of experimental programs of seventy-five (75) urban communities throughout the nation, in stabilizing efforts of such communities. All of these recommendations, _are, of course, based upon the findings of researched needs, and the adaptabilities of selective programs to the communityo �4 Needless, to point out, the program emphases will fall within the four basic program areas in which the Urban League operates: Housing, Economic Development & Employment, Health & Welfare, and Education & Youth Incentives - - on an intensive 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 offered in cooperation with, other services available to the community. The services will be problem oriented and will include leadership development; employment opportunities in the Atlanta. Urban League's Skills Bank"; training opportunities thr0ugn the Atlanta Urban League's Manpower Development and Training Act (On-The.:,Job Training Project); vocational and educational counseling through the Atlanta. Urban League 's "See Industry In Action" Program; improved living condition and relocation through the Atlanta Urban League's housing program, ar.d parental health and welfare assistance through the Atlanta Urben League's ENABLE (Education and Ne i ghborhood Action For A Better Living Environment) Program. Emphasis will be placed on the residents becoming knowledgeable and motivated to identif y their needs and to take positive cooperative action, without anger and violence , to satisfy these needs. The Urban League 's motto "American Teamwork Works " will always be manifested. This will mean active a nd visib l e participation, a t the "grass root" l evel by responsible white and Negro citizens • • • an important fa ctor in developing faith between the races. An example of . this would be "top" employer representatives working in the communities through the Atlanta Urban Lea gue 's fie ld unit office as a part of our "Skills Bank" operation, and employers welcoming prospective employees in their plants, as a part of our "See Industry In Action" Program. �