“… Eradicating Poverty is One of the Greatest Challenges of the 21st Century…”: Marc H. Morial

This week, I had the honor of delivering the keynote address at the annual luncheon of the Urban League of Rochester, where President and CEO William Clark has rallied strong local support for the affiliate’s housing, job training and education programs.

As Clark said, “One advantage we have is our community, it is more or less singularly focused on eliminating poverty and looking at programs that address poverty, and that address education.”

In my message to the affiliate, I noted that eradicating poverty is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The Urban League of Rochester is part of a coalition of organizations that have joined the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative, a collaborative and community-driven approach to eliminating poverty in the Greater Rochester community. The Initiative’s ambitious goal is to reduce poverty in the region by 50% over the next 15 years and to increase the number of families who are self-sufficient.

While great challenges remain, I’m proud of William Clark and his affiliate for leading the effort to address economic inequality in their community. I hope their effort can become a model to the nation.

Many thanks to William Clark and his amazing team for an enlightening and rewarding visit to their city!