John Edward Jacob

Last updated
Jacob in 1981 John Edward Jacob, head of National Urban League.jpg
Jacob in 1981

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.

Contents

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.

Urban Marshall Plan

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.

Related Research Articles

Affirmative action refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking to benefit marginalized groups. Historically and internationally, support for affirmative action has been justified by the idea that it may help with bridging inequalities in employment and pay, increasing access to education, and promoting diversity, social equity, and social inclusion and redressing alleged wrongs, harms, or hindrances, also called substantive equality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Society</span> Political program launched by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65

The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and 1965. The term was first referenced during a 1964 speech by Johnson at Ohio University, then later formally presented at the University of Michigan, and came to represent his domestic agenda. The main goal was the total elimination of poverty and racial injustice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the United States (1980–1991)</span> Chronology of the United States (1980–1991)

The history of the United States from 1980 until 1991 includes the last year of the Jimmy Carter presidency, eight years of the Ronald Reagan administration, and the first three years of the George H. W. Bush presidency, up to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Plagued by the Iran hostage crisis, runaway inflation, and mounting domestic opposition, Carter lost the 1980 United States presidential election to Republican Reagan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Urban League</span> American civil rights organization

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitney Young</span> American civil rights leader

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration</span>

The domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration was the domestic policy of the United States from 2001 to 2009 while George W. Bush was president. Bush's main domestic policy advisors include Chairman of the Council of Economic Affairs Edward Lazear, Rob Portman, director of the Office of Management and Budget; U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, Vice President Dick Cheney; U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson; U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez; U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt and Allan Hubbard, director of the National Economic Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow/PUSH</span> American non-profit organization

Rainbow/PUSH is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization formed as a merger of two nonprofit organizations founded by Jesse Jackson; Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition. The organizations pursue social justice, civil rights, and political activism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Commission on Civil Rights</span> Government agency

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Order 11246</span> Equal employment opportunity

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Fletcher</span> American politician (1924–2005)

Arthur Allen Fletcher was an American government official and Republican politician, he was a pioneer of affirmative action" as he was largely responsible for the Revised Philadelphia Plan.

Modern liberalism is the dominant version of liberalism in the United States. It combines ideas of civil liberty and equality with support for social justice and a mixed economy.

In the United States and its territories, Community Action Agencies (CAA) are local private and public non-profit organizations that carry out the Community Action Program (CAP), which was founded by the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act to fight poverty by empowering the poor as part of the War on Poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affirmative action in the United States</span>

In the United States, affirmative action consists of government-mandated, government-approved, and voluntary private programs granting special consideration to groups considered or classified as historically excluded, specifically racial minorities and women. These programs tend to focus on access to education and employment in order to redress the disadvantages associated with past and present discrimination. Another goal of affirmative action policies is to ensure that public institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and police forces, are more representative of the populations they serve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of George H. W. Bush</span> U.S. presidential administration from 1989 to 1993

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestic policy of the Ronald Reagan administration</span>

This article discusses the domestic policy of the Ronald Reagan administration from 1981 to 1989. Reagan's policies stressed conservative economic values, starting with his implementation of supply-side economic policies, dubbed as "Reaganomics" by both supporters and detracters. His policies also included the largest tax cut in American history as well as increased defense spending as part of his Soviet strategy. However, he significantly raised (non-income) taxes four times due to economic conditions and reforms, but the tax reforms instituted during presidency brought top marginal rates to their lowest levels since 1931, such that by 1988, the top US marginal tax rate was 28%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Order 11375</span> Amending Executive Order No. 11246 of September 24, 1965, Relating to Equal Employment Opportunity

Executive Order 11375, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 13, 1967, banned discrimination on the basis of sex in hiring and employment in both the United States federal workforce and on the part of government contractors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence M. Pendleton Jr.</span> American educator and politician (1930-1988)

Clarence McClane Pendleton Jr. was the politically conservative African American chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, a position that he held from 1981 until his death during the administration of U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan.

Marc Bendick, Jr. is a United States economist and interdisciplinary social scientist who conducts and applies research concerning public policy issues of employment, discrimination, poverty, and social and economic inequality.

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.

References

  1. "International Civil Rights: Walk of Fame - John Jacob". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-01.