MATT LAUER: This is a very big year for the National
Urban League. The organization is celebrating its centennial, 100 years
at the forefront of the civil rights movement. Marc Morial is the
president and CEO of the National Urban League. Marc, congratulations.
[On screen headline: "Urban Legend, Civil Rights Group Celebrates 100 Years"]
MARC MORIAL: Thanks, Matt.
LAUER: Happy Birthday.
MORIAL: Hey, it's a great birthday.
LAUER: Let me start with this and I'm not going to offend anybody,
least of all you, but I think if you did an informal poll here, and you
said to people what is the Urban League? They'd all know the name, they
may not be familiar with what you people do on a daily basis? So what
is it?
MORIAL: We help people find jobs. We train them for jobs. We work
with young people in after-school programs and early childhood
programs. Matt, we serve two million people a year in 100 communities
from coast to coast, and we help them uplift themselves and become
economically self-sufficient.
LAUER: When you look at the first 100 years of this organization,
what stands out as a highlight to you? What do you think one of the
major accomplishments has been?
MORIAL: Obviously, the passage of the civil rights voting rights and
fair housing acts, but our continuing effort over those 100 years to
help people find employment and to train them for better employment and
to open doors to, whether it's corporate America or government, as the
nation changed in the 20th century.
LAUER: You've brought some folks here with you. They're all waving
the flag. And, and if you look at the buttons here Marc, it says "I am
empowered" and this is an initiative that you're creating as a part of
this celebration. What exactly do you want people to do?
MORIAL: We want people to go to IamEmpowered.com. We'd like them to
consider to sign, to sign a pledge. That pledge surrounds four
important goals. One about our kids, one about jobs, one about housing
and one about health care. Matt, we're trying to change the
conversation in this nation to focus people on goals we need to have
for the future.
LAUER: You know, I want your take on something. You often hear
people say that once this nation elected Barack Obama as our first
African-American president, then we started living in a post-racial
society. Is that accurate?
MORIAL: My take is that we're moving to a multiracial society. And
our goal should be not necessarily post-racial, but perhaps post-racist
and multiracial. The nation is changing, and I think we have to embrace
the contributions of all ethnic groups and all races. And Barack
Obama's election, while significant, has never been the goal. The
election of a single person isn't the goal. The improvement of the
quality of life for all people, that's the objective. Parity is the
goal.
LAUER: So, what you're saying is there's still a lot of work to be done.
MORIAL: Tons of work.
LAUER: Yeah, well, 100 years at the forefront of the civil rights
movement. Our congratulations to all the fine people at the National
Urban League. Marc, thank you so much.
MORIAL: Thanks, Matt. Appreciate you. Thank you.
LAUER: Thanks for bringing that message to us.
