Greetings from the Board of Directors

February 16, 2008


Greetings from the Board of Directors:

On behalf of the Board of Directors I invite you to join in the celebration of your Tacoma Urban League. This 40th year of successfully servicing and uplifting citizens throughout Tacoma and surrounding communities is a corner stone for The City of destiny and should be shared by everyone.

The evolution of the Tacoma Urban League is perhaps best captured in an inspirational saying, “Even the strongest of trees started out as merely a small seed that chose to dig in, and refused to be moved by the elements around it”. We recognize and thank Thomas Dixon for being that seed that dug in and by doing so gave life to what is now a mature tree with an undeniable presence within Tacoma’s landscape. Today we have a strong tree with limbs extending into health care, education, youth development, economic development, and empowerment of the underserved and under-represented. We also recognize the many leaders that comprised the root system which anchored the urban league against storms and drought. We would be remiss not to mention fallen leaves, individuals that are no longer with us, that once helped to provide shade for those in need. We offer support as our tree bears new fruit and blossoms with a new generation of leadership like our own President and CEO Dr. Dorothy Anderson. Finally, we are encouraged by newly formed buds yet to open. They are our future.

As board members we’re proud to serve the community and ask that you continue to nurture and support the cultivation of the Tacoma Urban League; and ensure its continued growth through involvement, support, and membership.


Sincerely,


Wayne Williams
Chairman of the Board

Men in Action: Recap by Kofi Jeffries

TACOMA, WA – A hundred and twenty-five black men assembled Saturday morning to discuss the crisis of misguided youths of color.

The October 27, 2007 meeting at Evergreen State College had a surprise turnout. Over a breakfast of coffee and bagels, college students, entrepreneurs, educators, and even budding politicians debated and opined on the state of black education, health care, and economics.

Dr. Arte Young, President of the Evergreen Tacoma Campus, welcomed the men – as well as the seven females present who played supportive roles – to the campus, followed by a few pressing words from Wayne Williams, board chair of the Tacoma Urban League.

This author then presented a brief Power Point on the crisis on young men of color in America, which addressed the National and State Achievement Gap crisis, linked national firearm statistics to youth violence, and displayed a number of disparaging truths about the black incarceration rate.

“We’re in [an unstable] time frame,” Brother Anthony of Tacoma’s Fish House Cafe said when asked of his opinion on African-American males. “The biggest trick being used against us is to divide and conquer. We resist this by uniting together. Our unity is described by becoming men in action.”

Assembled groups, consisting of concerned youths in the Tacoma Community to its concerned leaders, were then offered a chance to discuss the aforementioned topics and begin to draft a few solutions of their own.

Across the board, there was a strong emphasis on what was missing in the community. Hypertension was mentioned several times as a major health concern, with many asking for greater educational emphasis to be placed on nutrition in public schools. Others feared that the dropout rates and ‘pushout’ rates – a term for removing at-risk youth out of the system - were beginning to coincide.
“There is a lack of black male representation in the public school system,” one man was quoted as saying. “We must begin to educate [our own] about our African history and perspectives.” Many in the audience seemed to agree.

The breakfast was a collaboration between Tacoma Urban League and Message Magazine.