The National Urban League unveiled on Tuesday its annual report on the state of Black America, saying the nation is under attack from hate and extremism within the country.
The report hopes to raise \u201cthe alarm around the explosive growth of far-right and domestic extremism and the threat it poses to our communities, our families, and our nation,\u201d the organization said in the report\u2019s executive summary.
The report outlines areas where the organization believes inequities exist, including employment, education, health, housing, criminal justice and civic participation.
Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the organization, said during the report\u2019s unveiling ceremony in Atlanta, that it\u2019s time to fight back.
\u201cThere\u2019s a fire blazing in the United States of America,\u201d Morial said. \u201cThat fire is burning through democracy.\u201d
He told attendees that it\u2019s time to stand up to hate and manipulation.
\u201cIt is our job, Urban League, as friends and allies to fight to resist and to battle against this,\u201d Morial said.
Hateful rhetoric and extremist ideologies have reached the military, law enforcement, politics and classrooms across the country, according to the report.
On Tuesday, Morial said there have been several efforts by states to limit the teaching of contributions by Black people in America, and those efforts seek to \u201cerase a truthful, albeit sometimes painful recitation of the role that race (has) played.\u201d
Morial addressed Florida officials\u2019 decision this year to block\u2002a proposed new Advanced Placement class on African American studies. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in January said the state was rejecting the proposal because it would impose a \u201cpolitical agenda,\u201d with a preliminary framework that included the study of \u201cqueer theory\u201d and political movements that advocate for \u201cabolishing prisons.\u201d
The rejection of the class proposal amounted to \u201cdisrespecting the important legacy and history of our people,\u201d Morial said.
Efforts to limit the teaching of race in schools, Morial said, are not led by parents.
\u201cWe will not be fooled. We will not be tricked. It is not a parent\u2019s rights movement. It is a hate movement in fancy clothing,\u201d Morial said.
Americans can extinguish the \u201cflames of the fires\u201d of hatred, extremism and domestic terrorism that are \u201cburning through democracy,\u201d Morial said.
The organization has prepared its \u201cState of Black America\u201d report for 47 years.
This year\u2019s edition was published in partnership with the Southern Poverty Law Center and UCLA\u2019s Law Anti-CRT legislative tracking project. The report includes more than a dozen essays written by lawmakers, scholars and civil rights advocates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n