John Edward Jacob (born 1934 in Trout, Louisiana) is a U.S. civil rights leader. He served as the president of the National Urban League between 1982 and 1994.
Jacob received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Howard University and was a social worker in Baltimore before joining the Urban League. In 1965, he became director of education and youth incentives at the Washington, D.C. chapter. Later he served as president and executive director of the San Diego Urban League. In 1979 he became executive vice-president of the national office under Vernon Jordan, whom he succeeded as president. [1]
During his tenure as Urban League president, Jacob fought cutbacks in federal social programs and the weakening of civil rights enforcement under the Reagan Administration. In particular, he objected to the appointment of a conservative majority to the Civil Rights Commission that was hostile to vigorous protection of civil rights, as well as the Justice Department's prosecutions of other public agencies engaged in affirmative action.
In the early 1980s, Jacob helped develop a plan for urban recovery similar to the 1947 Marshall Plan initiated to assist European nations after World War II. Aid was sought from private sectors to facilitate entry-level job training programs, and Jacob proposed the League give direct assistance from its own resources to poverty-stricken minorities and whites, including housing and job placement. In addition, he recommended the federal government institute full employment through substantial public works and job training programs, and along with other civil rights groups, supported economic pressure in the corporate world to develop markets and jobs for minorities.
The son of a Baptist minister, Jacob was also an adherent of self-help. He promoted SAT tutoring, comprehensive teenage pregnancy prevention, and a male responsibility program for fatherhood, to address issues contributing to the cycle of poverty in the African-American community. Jacob added voter registration, education, and drug control to the League's agenda of priorities.
In contrast to Reagan, George H. W. Bush was initially receptive to Jacob's domestic Marshall Plan proposal, and Jacob welcomed dialogue with the new administration. But Bush's veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1990 soured the relationship. The early 1990s also saw new court decisions and conservative political pressure against affirmative action policies the Urban League supported.
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The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest community-based organization of its kind in the nation. Its current president is Marc Morial.
Whitney Moore Young Jr. was an American civil rights leader. Trained as a social worker, he spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the United States and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively worked for equitable access to socioeconomic opportunity for the historically disenfranchised. Young was influential in the United States federal government's War on Poverty in the 1960s.
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The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility for investigating, reporting on, and making recommendations concerning civil rights issues in the United States. Specifically, the CCR investigates allegations of discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, disability. In March 2023, Rochelle Mercedes Garza was appointed to serve as Chair of the CCR. She is the youngest person to be appointed to the position.
Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 24, 1965, established requirements for non-discriminatory practices in hiring and employment on the part of U.S. government contractors. It "prohibits federal contractors and federally assisted construction contractors and subcontractors, who do over $10,000 in Government business in one year from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." It also requires contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex or national origin." The phrase affirmative action had appeared previously in Executive Order 10925 in 1961.
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George H. W. Bush's tenure as the 41st president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1989, and ended on January 20, 1993. Bush, a Republican from Texas and the incumbent vice president for two terms under President Ronald Reagan, took office following his landslide victory over Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election. His presidency ended following his defeat in the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton, after one term in office. Bush was the father of the 43rd president, George W. Bush.
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The Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 was an act of the United States Congress introduced by John LaFalce aimed at aiding the success of women business entrepreneurs. It provides a basis for policies, programs, and public/private sector initiatives supporting women's business endeavors. The bill was signed into law on October 25, 1988. For much of history, women were excluded from the business world, but at the time of the legislation women were becoming entrepreneurs at a fast rate. The market contains many inequities that influence the success women in business are able to achieve. Sexual stereotyping and past societal barriers result in women not having the same access to ownership or control. The Women's Business Ownership Act was drafted in response to the Small Business Committee's series of six hearings on problems facing women entrepreneurs and follows the recommendations outlined in the Committee report "New Economic Realities: The Rise of Women Entrepreneurs." within business opportunities for women.
Bernice Smith White was an American community worker, civic leader, and a leader for equal rights for women. She was educated in Baltimore City Public Schools and received her bachelor's degree in education from Coppin State College. She also studied political science, government, personnel management, behavioral aspects of management, labor relations, and equal opportunity at Morgan State University, the Community College of Baltimore, George Washington University, the University of Maryland, and Fisk University. She taught in the Baltimore school system for about 12 years. In the Baltimore Urban League she worked as a volunteer in programs to provide job opportunities for youths.