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January 3, 1968
The Steering Committee
The Task Force on Local Coalitions
The Emergency Convocation, held in August, appealed to
communities across the country to form counterpart local
coalitions. This appeal was predicated on the knowledge
that achievement of the goals adopted by The Urban Coalition
is dependent upon the degree to which active support
for those goals develops in a significant number or urban
communities.
The Urban Coalition also recognized that merely issuing
an appeal for formation of local coalitions would not be
sufficient. The Task Force on Local Coalitions was created
to assist communities in establishing coalitions.
As of December 31, 1967, nineteen local coalitions had been
created. A minimum of ten more and possibly as many as
twenty may be formed in January 1968. An organizing committee,
to prepare for convening the newly authorized National Council
of Urban Coalitions, is scheduled to meet in Washington on
January 29, 1968, at the Mayflower Hotel.
The response to the Convocation call for counterpart coalitions
was overwhelming, measured by the volume of requests from com-
munity leadership across the country for organizing and program-
ming assistance. The number of such requests was beyond the
capacity of the small national coordinating staff to service.
The decision was therefore made to convene three regional
conferences for community leadership interested in mobilizing
coalitions. To date, two such conferences have been held, one
in Chicago, in October, and a second in San Francisco, the
end of November.
The aggregate attendance at these two meetings represented
over ninety different cities in the west and mid-west. A
third conference for the eastern part of the country will be
held on January 12th in New York City.
Page Two
Report to the Steering Committee
Our second approach to assisting communities is in the form
of Guidelines, which have been carefully developed by a Task
Force working group and the coordinating staff. The Guidelines,
a copy of which was recently sent to each of you, have now
been printed in pamphlet form. The pamphlet will serve not
only to explain the nature and purpose of The Urban Coalition,
but to counsel community leadership on possible approaches to
community mobilization.
The need for action task forces as the working arms of local
coalitions has been stressed both in the planning conferences
and the Guidelines. As these local task forces emerge, mutual
benefit will result from working relationships with the counter-
part national task forces.
Once the regional conference schedule has been completed, the
task force will meet to evaluate progress to date and to map
plans for future action. We expect to intensify efforts to
stimulate organizing efforts in specific communities in many
of which mayoralty campaigns, this fall, precluded coalition
formation. In effect, this means a shift from a wholesale to
a retail approach which will have to be selective because of
the very limited staff and funds now available. However, we
anticipate assistance in these mobilization efforts from all
those organizations and constituencies represented on the
Steering Committee and, importantly, from the ranks of already
operative local urban coalitions.
The Steering Committee
The Task Force on Local Coalitions
The Emergency Convocation, held in August, appealed to
communities across the country to form counterpart local
coalitions. This appeal was predicated on the knowledge
that achievement of the goals adopted by The Urban Coalition
is dependent upon the degree to which active support
for those goals develops in a significant number or urban
communities.
The Urban Coalition also recognized that merely issuing
an appeal for formation of local coalitions would not be
sufficient. The Task Force on Local Coalitions was created
to assist communities in establishing coalitions.
As of December 31, 1967, nineteen local coalitions had been
created. A minimum of ten more and possibly as many as
twenty may be formed in January 1968. An organizing committee,
to prepare for convening the newly authorized National Council
of Urban Coalitions, is scheduled to meet in Washington on
January 29, 1968, at the Mayflower Hotel.
The response to the Convocation call for counterpart coalitions
was overwhelming, measured by the volume of requests from com-
munity leadership across the country for organizing and program-
ming assistance. The number of such requests was beyond the
capacity of the small national coordinating staff to service.
The decision was therefore made to convene three regional
conferences for community leadership interested in mobilizing
coalitions. To date, two such conferences have been held, one
in Chicago, in October, and a second in San Francisco, the
end of November.
The aggregate attendance at these two meetings represented
over ninety different cities in the west and mid-west. A
third conference for the eastern part of the country will be
held on January 12th in New York City.
Page Two
Report to the Steering Committee
Our second approach to assisting communities is in the form
of Guidelines, which have been carefully developed by a Task
Force working group and the coordinating staff. The Guidelines,
a copy of which was recently sent to each of you, have now
been printed in pamphlet form. The pamphlet will serve not
only to explain the nature and purpose of The Urban Coalition,
but to counsel community leadership on possible approaches to
community mobilization.
The need for action task forces as the working arms of local
coalitions has been stressed both in the planning conferences
and the Guidelines. As these local task forces emerge, mutual
benefit will result from working relationships with the counter-
part national task forces.
Once the regional conference schedule has been completed, the
task force will meet to evaluate progress to date and to map
plans for future action. We expect to intensify efforts to
stimulate organizing efforts in specific communities in many
of which mayoralty campaigns, this fall, precluded coalition
formation. In effect, this means a shift from a wholesale to
a retail approach which will have to be selective because of
the very limited staff and funds now available. However, we
anticipate assistance in these mobilization efforts from all
those organizations and constituencies represented on the
Steering Committee and, importantly, from the ranks of already
operative local urban coalitions.