"The African-American Quest
for Economic Justice"
by Bernard E. Anderson
Published April, 2000
The theme of this African-American history celebration, the economic empowerment of the African-American community, is especially appropriate and timely. The quest for economic opportunity has long been a high priority on the agenda of the African-American community and its leadership.
You might recall the historic civil rights March on Washington in August 1963-almost 37 years ago. At that time, 250,000 men, women, and children of all races and religions, and from all sections of the country, converged on our nation's capital to bring their petition for equal rights and equal opportunity.
That was a march for "Jobs and Freedom." The juxtaposition of those words was carefully considered. They reflected the view of Mr. A. Philip Randolph, the brilliant labor and civil rights leader, and the father of the March, that victory in the struggle for social and political empowerment would be empty without corresponding progress in the pursuit of economic justice. | next |
Bernard E. Anderson is Assistant Secretary for the Employment Standards Administration, the United States Department of Labor agency which includes the Wage and Hour Division, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, and the Office of Labor Management Standards.
Prior to his Department of Labor appointment, he was president of the Anderson Group, a Philadelphia economic and management advisory firm which provided strategic planning information for private and nonprofit organizations. He was formerly Professor of Industry at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance and Commerce; a lecturer in economics at Swarthmore College; the director of the Social Sciences Division of the Rockefeller Foundation; and a visiting fellow in public and international affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.
The Neal-Marshall Public Policy Lecture Series is a program of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs to honor Marcellus Neal and Frances Marshall Eagleson, the first African-American male and female graduates of the university. The lecture series is intended to support Indiana University's initiative to enhance participation of African-Americans and other minorities in the life of the university. The lecture is presented annually in February, designated Black History Month, to illuminate public policy issues currently facing African-American students and citizens.
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