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Blair H. TaylorMr. Paulson, Tear Down That Wall!

November 7, 2008 – 4:10 pm

Originally featured in the Los Angeles Sentinel on November 16, 2008.

With the enormous bailouts that the federal government provided over the past several months to myriad sectors of our economy, here’s a new twist: How about some relief for the nation’s not for profit and social service sector?

Now, perhaps the idea sounds spurious or even facetious at first, that is until we realize that as our economy has increasingly failed the middle and lower class over the past two decades it is the nation’s social sector that has essentially served as the “safety net” for our country’s most disenfranchised people and communities. This sector has been servicing millions of our country’s neediest people for decades. Yet today, as a result of our nation’s economy, more and more of our nation’s most prominent social, civil and community organizations are in serious financial trouble. And as the economy continues to contract more rapidly, far too many of our most valuable and venerable not for profits–organizations that tirelessly service America’s most disenfranchised–will likely fold under the pressure.
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By Blair H. Taylor | Posted in Economy, Op-ed | Tagged with , , | Comments (0)

Blair H. TaylorBlair Taylor Testifes before the National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

October 27, 2008 – 10:02 pm

Blair H. Taylor, President & CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League, testified at September 9, 2008 hearing held by the National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Mr. Taylor’s testimony was as follows:

Good morning. Thank you to the Commission for allowing this important testimony to occur.

Many of the panelists have described elements of the housing crisis in vivid detail. The hope is to use this brief time with you to specifically focus on the impact of this crisis on urban communities, and also to pose possible solutions.

We will use a sample neighborhood in South Los Angeles as a proxy for inner city LA. The neighborhood I will be referencing, known as Park Mesa Heights in South Los Angeles is located in the 90043 zip code. Up front note that it is not the most blighted urban community in this city, but then again, it is clearly very far from the top. It faces a major crisis in homeownership, but also major issues in health care access, education/school performance, and violent crime. I want us to focus on this neighborhood because in many ways it both exemplifies the problems we face and also offers a roadmap for solutions.
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By Blair H. Taylor | Posted in Crenshaw High School, Education, Employment, Health, Housing, Neighborhoods@Work, Op-ed, Safety | | Comments (0)

Urban LeagueWhitney M. Young, Jr. Leadership Award

October 15, 2008 – 8:51 am
From the 2008 National Urban League Confernce, former LA Urban League president John W. Mack presenting the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Leadership Award to current president Blair H. Taylor.

By Urban League | Posted in National Urban League, Video | Tagged with | Comments (0)

Blair H. TaylorIs America ready for Obama?

October 1, 2008 – 10:30 am

Originally featured in the LA Times on July 17, 2008.

The cover of the New Yorker magazine this week drove home a stark reality that both columnist Tim Rutten and The Times editorial board missed: Although many Americans appear to be ready for an African American president, the question remains as to whether America itself is ready. The recent cover is the latest example of the willingness of the American media and thought leaders to openly demean African American leaders and play into the worst fears of some American people.

Now, before I am labeled “thinskinned,” let me make some acknowledgments upfront. Yes, I know that the New Yorker is a purportedly “liberal” magazine with a history of satirical illustrations. And yes, I am aware that it has a constitutional right to publish a provocative cover image. But it also has an ligation to be wary of the line between provocative and scandalous. So, regardless of the magazine’s political tilt or its intentions with respect to this or any other cover, in the end, the magazine and its staff must be held fully responsible for such reckless decisions.
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By Blair H. Taylor | Posted in Op-ed, Politics | Tagged with | Comments (1)

Urban LeagueUCLA Analysis of Park Mesa Heights

September 17, 2008 – 3:19 pm

These analytical briefs are part of a series on the status of Park Mesa Heights, a neighborhood located in South Los Angeles, a 70 square block area anchored by Crenshaw Senior High School. The Los Angeles Urban League (LAUL) has established a 5-year strategic plan to improve the quality of life in this area through advocacy, leadership and neighborhood change. UCLA Department of Urban Planning, with support from UCLA’s Center for Community Partnerships, provided technical support for this effort by assembling, analyzing and publishing information related to the state of housing, employment, education and public safety in the immediate neighborhood and surrounding areas. By using the most current and geographic detailed available data, UCLA assembled information that can help inform the 5-year plan by providing insights into the magnitude and nature of the challenges and issues facing Park Mesa Heights stakeholders. Moreover, UCLA’s efforts includes preparing technical memos to provide guidance on how to access and analyze the data, so LAUL staff will have greater capacity to monitor changes and empirically evaluate progress.

By Urban League | Posted in Education, Employment, Housing, Neighborhoods@Work, Safety | Tagged with | Comments (0)

Urban LeagueCBS Early Show at Vernon Head Start Program

June 11, 2008 – 11:44 am

Sears and Craftsman donated a wonderful playhouse for the Vernon Head Start site and provided toys and other projects for the children to enjoy. More than 60 children and their parents participated in the CBS Early Show shoot which aired live on the east coast (tape delayed on west coast) beginning at 7 am.

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By Urban League | Posted in Head Start, Photos, Video | Tagged with , , | Comments Off

Blair H. TaylorBlair H. Taylor testified before the Federal Reserve in support of Bank of America

May 2, 2008 – 8:31 am

On Tuesday, April 29, 2008, Blair H. Taylor, President & CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League, testified before the Federal Reserve in support of Bank of America Corp.’s proposed $4 billion acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. The two-day hearing regarding the acquisition took place at the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in downtown Los Angeles. The Federal Reserve reviews bank acquisitions to determine whether they are in the public interest. Mr. Taylor’s testimony was as follows:

Good morning.

My name is Blair Taylor. I am the President & CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League.

As some of you may know, the LA Urban League is part of the affiliate network of Urban Leagues across this nation. The network includes 100 affiliates located in major metropolitan areas. As to the Los Angeles Urban League specifically, with an operating budget of more than $30 million/year, and a staff of more than 300 full-time employees, we are the largest affiliate in the nation.

For the past 87 years the LA Urban League has been a central part of the lives of tens of thousands of this city’s most needy residents. We locate jobs and provide employment services for hundreds of residents each year through our Worksource Centers. We provide after-school programs and mentoring services through our Milken Family Literacy and Youth Training Center. We provide childcare services to thousands of children and their families through our 34 HeadStart and State Preschool Centers.

And when the issues of this city arise, when it is time to advocate on behalf of African Americans and other minorities, the Los Angeles Urban League is usually front and center. When issues of police brutality and lack of African American sensitivity had our community in a headlock in the 1990’s, the Los Angeles Urban League led the charge for police reform. And when UCLA’s African American freshman admissions rate fell to a paltry 96 students in 2006, the LA Urban League was front and center, driving the public institution and the entire UC system to refocus on minority enrollment.

I have been at the Los Angeles Urban League in this role for nearly 3 years. During that time, I have had the pleasure and the challenge of working on some of Los Angeles’ most difficult issues. And despite major progress on many fronts, many major issues remain:

  • Unemployment rates remain locked at levels 4 to 5 times higher than the average in urban communities.
  • High School dropout rates remain near 50% in the African American community.
  • Inadequate access to health care and services threatens the lives and well being
    of our community.
  • And the latest housing crisis threatens the overall economic stability of the
    entire region.

Yes, there are certainly challenges. But the LA Urban League and our partners have consistently focused on solutions.

And one of the things that has helped me in the ongoing push for social justice are the major allies – corporate, public sector and foundational partners, who have arisen to take on their share of the load.

I place the Bank of America squarely in that camp.
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By Blair H. Taylor | Posted in Op-ed | Tagged with , | Comments Off

Blair H. TaylorRace issue realities must be discussed

April 1, 2008 – 10:32 am

This nation is mired in a housing market collapse. This nation is on the brink of a severe economic recession. This nation is faced with the largest gaps between rich and poor since the great depression. This nation is facing crumbling infrastructure, schools that do not work, and a rapidly deteriorating position in the world. This nation is now $9 Trillion in debt, and is bogged down in a war whose objectives are not clear, and whose costs now exceed $1 Billion per week. Yet in the midst of a Presidential election, for the better part of the last week we have scarcely debated these issues. We’ve instead spent an extremely large portion of our limited attention spans on the issue of Barack Obama and his pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

Why is it that the words from a fiery Black pastor have so stirred America that we seem to have little appetite for anything else? Candidly, I am non-plussed by the right-leaning media’s assault over the past few days waged against Pastor Wright and Senator Obama. Their antagonism to this type of situation is both expected and predictable. But what is surprising and also interesting is the reaction of the so called liberals to the Reverend Wright situation. That is, the reaction of those who claim to be in “favor” of a more fair and just (or colorblind) America, but who are nevertheless somehow shocked and indignant by open expressions from the very people who have yet to see that fairness come to fruition.

What is truly fascinating to ponder is the reality of those who were previously supporting Senator Obama before this fiasco, but have decided against supporting him after.
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By Blair H. Taylor | Posted in Op-ed, Politics | Tagged with , | Comments Off

Blair H. TaylorFirst and Long

February 7, 2008 – 4:17 pm

This past week the teachers and parents of Crenshaw High voted in favor of the school entering the Innovation Division of Los Angeles Unified School District LAUSD’s effort to place select schools on a pathway toward localized governance and control.

The chorus for change was overwhelming: More than 80 percent of all the teachers and faculty at Crenshaw High voted for change, and more than 94 percent of the voting parents did so as well.

The students of Crenshaw High School held a symbolic vote regarding the move to the Innovation Division. Ninety percent voted in favor of the move. In spite of this powerful showing of stakeholder support, there are some who are firmly entrenched in the status quo and are vigorously resisting forces of positive change. They do so without the articulation of clear alternatives and fail to recognize that their participation in improving our schools is welcomed and necessary.

The South Los Angeles community, and the entire city of Los Angeles, must ensure that naysayers cannot sabotage the iDivision process in its early stages. We can best do that by vigilantly upholding the collective mandate for change at Crenshaw now.
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By Blair H. Taylor | Posted in Crenshaw High School, Education, Neighborhoods@Work | Tagged with , | Comments Off

Urban LeagueCrenshaw High School Teachers, Parents and Students Vote to Enter LAUSD Innovation Division

January 28, 2008 – 10:06 am

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent of Schools David L. Brewer III and Board President Mónica García will be joined by President and CEO of Los Angeles Urban League Blair Taylor, President and CEO of the Tom and Ethel Bradley Foundation Greg Franks, and others to announce that the Crenshaw High School (CHS) community and staff have voted to enter into the LAUSD’s Innovation Division (iDivision) with local partners, L. A. Urban League, the Bradley Foundation, and the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education.

With the unofficial count done, more than 93% of eligible faculty and teachers voted and of that, 80% voted for the LAUSD iDivision change. Ninety percent of voting parents also supported the iDivision change. In a symbolic vote last week, Crenshaw High School students also voted in favor to join the iDivision by a margin of nearly 90%.
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By Urban League | Posted in Crenshaw High School, Education, Neighborhoods@Work | Tagged with , | Comments Off