Tennessee Voices, Episode 344: Clifton Harris, Urban League of Middle Tennessee
Eleven days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, the Urban League of Middle Tennessee formed.
The purpose of the group was to address the racial disparities in education, economic development and housing that Dr. King fought so hard to bridge.
Fifty-five years later, the organization is still active and its work is more urgent than ever because of the ground lost over the decades.
On this episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, Urban League of Middle Tennessee President and CEO Clifton Harris spoke about the challenges and what his organization is doing to meet the moment.
That includes partnerships with businesses and other organizations on advancing workforce equity. That includes participating in committees working toward enhancing social and emotional learning in the public school system. It also means training men and women on how to become successful real estate developers.
Harris talked about the grand inequity facing Black community members on attaining generational wealth.
"We have an income problem, not a housing problem," he said.
He also talked about the "Black tax" effectively imposed on African Americans, or regressive economic policies that have caused communities of color to pay disproportionately more than their white counterparts.
Harris also talked about the Urban League's work in encouraging citizens to register to vote and participate in the democratic process.
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About Tennessee Voices
The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
Watch past episodes:Tennessee Voices videocast
Please email your ideas for future guests to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee. He is of Colombian and Cuban descent, has studied or worked in several Spanish-speaking countries, and was the founding editor of Gaceta Tropical in Southwest Florida. He has lived in Tennessee since 2014. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Video podcast: Clifton Harris, Urban League of Middle Tennessee
