DN! Obama Hosts Civil Rights Leaders on African American Unemploymentflv
1Obama Hosts Civil Rights Leaders on African American Unemployment
President Obama hosted a group of civil rights leaders at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the toll of the economic crisis on African Americans. The leaders—the Reverend Al Sharpton, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, and National Urban League chief executive Marc Morial—say they urged Obama to address economic woes facing people of color but backed his approach not to adopt race-based programs. Critics have faulted President Obama for not advancing proposals focusing on African Americans economic plight. The official unemployment rate for African Americans stands at 16.5 percent, though its believed to be higher. While the national unemployment rate dropped below ten percent for the first time in five months in January, the rate for African Americans marked a slight increase.