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MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE WORKING COMMITTEE
Washington, D. C.
September 21, 1967
John Feild opened the meeting and defined the working committee as a review-
ing and coordinating body with the primary objective of insuring a steady
flow of information to the national steering committee so that the steering
committee will be able to make appropriate decisions at its meetings.
NOTE: Steering committee will meet Monday, October 9 at 7:30 PM in
New York at the Time-Life Building,
ADMINISTRATION
Office space has been secured in the Federal Bar Building West, 1819 H Street NW
(telephone 293-1530). John Feild and Ron Linton will continue as coordinators
for the Coalition. Full-time staff will consist of Olga Corey, information
coordinator and associate coordinators Mel Cotton and Chris Mould, Jim Gibson
of the Potomac Institute and Vernon Jordan of the Southern Regional Council
will be available on a part-time basis on loan from their respective agencies.
NOTE: An administrative report will be sent to you before the October 9
steering committee meeting. You will also receive a roster with
names, addresses and phone numbers of all steering committee
members and their representatives. A budget for operating the
Coalition will be presented to the steering committee on October 9.
PUBLICATIONS
A roster of all those who attended the Convocation will be sent out before the
October 9 meeting: everyone who attended will receive one. Complete proceed-
ings are also being prepared and will also be sent to everyone registered at
the Convocation.
NOTE: Because of printing costs, bulk copies of the proceedings can only be
supplied at cost. Please notify Olga Corey in advance of your organ-
ization's needs.
TASK FORCES
Two new task forces are being formed--Local Coalitions and Communications,
Co-Chairmen for Local Coalitions are (1) Mayor Joseph Barr of Pittsburgh,
(2) a businessman to be selected as soon as possible, and (3) Arnold
Aaronson, of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Co-Chairmen for
Communications are (1) Joseph Allen, President of McGraw-Hill Publications,
(2) John Johnson, President of Johnson Publications (Ebony, Jet), and
(3) Harold Fleming, President of the Potomac Institute. Also, Roy Ash of
Litton Industries has agreed to serve as Co-Chairman of the Task Force on
Educational Disparities with Dr. Arthur Flemming and Roy Wilkins.
PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT
Representatives of the Co-Chairmen of the task force met with the coordi-
nating staff. They are considering pilot meetings (probably New York,
Detroit, Atlanta) at which 10-20 representatives of the local corporate
structure will generate ideas and lay the groundwork for local action,
The first meeting would be held early in October, Under consideration
for follow-up to the local meetings is a national meeting to launch plans
for assisting local private employment programs. The task force also
plans to prepare a handbook for the initiation and development of local
task forces on private employment.
LOCAL COALITIONS
Cities in which local coalitions are already in the process of formation--or
are likely to be--are being identified. These cities will be contacted to
send representatives to a national meeting in Chicago on October 18. At
this meeting there will be presentations on the techniques of establishing
and operating local coalition task forces on private employment, legisla-
tion (public service employment) and communications. Meanwhile, staff
liaison from the Coalition will be available to any city coalition working
in these three areas. Hopefully 50 or more local coalitions will be in
operation by early November,
NOTE: All members of working committee were asked to immediately contact
their principals and urge them to contact key people in local
communities who could be helpful in establishing local coalitions
as emphasized in the Coalition's Statement of Principles, Goals
and Commitments,
PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT
The task force urged members of the working committee to relay to their
principals the need for telegrams, calls and letters in support of the
Clark-Javits bill, It was explained that the Coalition's endorsement of
this legislation was taken as a result of polling members of the steering
committee as agreed at the previous meeting. In order to keep procedures
clear, the task force will meet before the October 9 steering committee
meeting to draw up recommendations to the Committee for Coalition policy
on pending legislation.
COMMUNICATTONS
The three Co-Chairmen of this task force have defined their objectives as
three-fold: (1) communicating to the public the meaning, goals and activi-
ties of the Urban Coalition, (2) working with other task forces in produc-
ing materials which will offer technical assistance and guidance in imple-
menting coalition programs and (3) mounting a nationwide educational effort
on the urgency of the urban crisis.
The national Advertising Council has registered a strong interest in assist-
ing the Urban Coalition and has scheduled a special meeting with a coalition
representative to discuss how their interests, talents and energies may
best be used.
RECONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Task force Co-Chairmen are meeting in New York on October 5, This task
force will be working closely with the Insurance Committee on Urban
Problems which will also be working closely with local coalitions,
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
Task force co-chairmen have not met yet. A task force operating in Illinois
has expressed a desire to work with us,
OCTOBER 9 STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING
Four items have been proposed for the agenda of the October 9 meeting, which
will be attended by principals and their representatives. These are: (1)
recommendations on organization, (2) presentation of task force programs,
(3) procedures for developing public policy positions and, (4) an admini-
strative report. Since there will be discussion of the desirability of
enlarging the present 33-member steering committee, especially to provide
for some type of participation by local coalitions, a committee was
appointed to consider this question and report on October 9, This committee
consists of Richard Hirsch, Chairman, Andrew Biemiller, Alfred Eisenpreis,
Harold Fleming, Bayard Rustin, Wayne Smithy and Peter Tufo.
It was also decided that the proposal for an Urban Economic Council would
be presented to the steering committee at the October 9 meeting,