Nation's Cities - April 4, 2011

4 NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
April 4, 2011

UPCOMING PROGRAMS
April 21 Audioconference to Focus on Municipal
Leadership for Black Male Achievement

by Michael Karpman
City leaders are invited to
register for a free, hour-long
audioconference on “Municipal
Leadership for Black Male
Achievement.” Sponsored by
NLC’s Institute for Youth,
Education and Families (YEF
Institute) with support from the
Open Society Foundations, the
call will take place Thursday,
April 21, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern
Time.To register, visit www.
nlc.org/iyef.

INSTITUTE
FOR YOUTH,
EDUCATION & FAMILIES
to target resources more effec-
tively to improve outcomes for
disadvantaged black males.
Persistent Disparities
Sizable disparities between
black male Americans and other
segments of the population per-
sist — and in some cases, have
worsened in recent years — on
a wide range of indicators, such
as educational achievement,
employment, financial security,
health, incarceration and family
stability.
In a number of cities, fewer
than half of black male students
graduate from high school, even
as the job market increasingly
rewards individuals with post-
secondary education.
According to Northeastern
University’s Center for Labor
Market Studies, the national
jobless rate for black youth ages
16 to 24 who dropped out of
high school was nearly 70 per-
cent in 2008, and nearly 23 per-
cent of young black male high
school dropouts ages 16-24
were incarcerated in juvenile
detention centers, jails or pris-
ons in 2006-07.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
data show that the overall
unemployment rate for black
men ages 20 and older was
16.2 percent in February 2011,
down from a level of 17.8 per-
cent one year earlier, but still
3. 2 percentage points higher
than the rate for black women
and more than twice the rate for
white men and women.
Promoting Achievement
and Employment
Motivated by a commitment
to equity and with econom-
ic vitality and public safety as
top priorities, municipal offi-
cials are leading cross-sector
approaches to promote black
male achievement and break the
cycle of intergenerational pov-
erty. City leaders are uniquely
positioned to foster collabora-
tive approaches that have the
potential to “move the needle”
on key indicators of future suc-
cess.

How to Register
To register for the audiocon-
ference, visit www.nlc.org/iyef.
No phone registrations can be
accepted. At least one day prior
to the audioconference, each
registrant will receive an e-mail
providing a toll-free, dial-in
number.
Registration for the audio-
conference will close by the
end of the day on Tues., April
19. For questions about the
audioconference, please con-
tact Michael Karpman at (202)
626-3072 or karpman@nlc.org.
Details: To learn more about
the Campaign for Black Male
Achievement, visit www.soros.
org/initiatives/usprograms/
focus/cbma. For more informa-
tion about the YEF Institute’s
Municipal Leadership for Black
Male Achievement initiative,
contact Leon Andrews at (202)
626-3039 or andrews@nlc.org.
Webinar Event: Community Policing: Building Common
Ground with Immigrant Communities

by Michelle Burgess
Join NLC’s Municipal Action for
Immigrant Integration (MAII) program
and Cities of Migration for a free webi-
nar, Community Policing: Building
Common Ground with Immigrant
Communities, on April 13 at 11:00
a.m. Eastern Time.

2010 Award for Municipal Excellence,
in response to a growing vulnerable
population within the city.
The program includes outreach to
the immigrant community, cultural
training for officers and regular appear-
ances on the local Hispanic radio sta-
tion.
• In Cardiff, The Cardiff
E.S.O.L. Police Project puts its officers
in the classroom to teach English-as-
a-second-language classes, which serve
to teach language, provide community
legal information and build trust within
the immigrant community.

DOE to Hold State and Local Government Clean Energy Summit
by Carolyn Berndt
In an effort to expand on the suc-
cess of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, the U.S. Department
of Energy will host the first in a series of
policy-focused meetings for federal, state
and local energy efficiency and renew-
able energy leaders.

Through a series of plenary sessions,
breakouts and collaborative discussions,
summit participants will focus on clean
energy investment as a driver of eco-
nomic development; taking clean energy
to scale; accelerating market penetration
of residential and commercial programs;
financing mechanisms; setting sustain-
ability and policy priorities; and working
effectively across federal, state and local
jurisdictions to achieve clean energy
objectives.

Details: Registration and complete
conference information can be found
at: www.sentech.org/EECBG-SEP_
Conference/.
For more information, contact
EECBG-SEP_Conference@sra.com.