Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton calls on Mayor Eric Adams to address high unemployment rates among black New Yorkers and eliminate controversial corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs. He called for a “summit” to be held at City Hall to combat the movement.
“This is a moral issue,” Sharpton said Thursday, noting that the city’s black residents have an unemployment rate of 9.4%, nearly three times that of white residents.
He said the issue is particularly pressing among “black and brown” outlying residents.
“It’s inexcusable that the unemployment rate for Black people is almost three times that of white people,” he said in East Elmhurst, one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak. He spoke at a press conference at First Baptist Church.
Sharpton, an Adams ally, challenged the city’s second black mayor to address the issue.
Civil rights leaders said they met with Adams early Thursday morning and the mayor had indicated he was “open” to holding a summit to address unemployment.
The director of the National Action Network has criticized what he described as a “white backlash” against “DEI” programs that champion diversity, equity and inclusion to advance the hiring and promotion of minorities in corporate America and academia. He also expressed concerns about the same.
He said the backlash could lead to increased unemployment for “black and brown” people.
Opponents argued that DEI programs exclude whites and Asians from hiring and promotions.
The Rev. Patrick Young, pastor of First Baptist Church, noted that 20 percent of area residents live in poverty and 60 percent of their income goes toward housing costs. The church delivers food and clothing every Saturday.
Other speakers included former City Comptroller Bill Thompson;
In response to Mr Shapton’s complaint, City Hall spokeswoman Amaris Cockfield said: [and] The nearly 1 million private sector jobs lost to the pandemic were restored two years ahead of schedule.
“But the mayor has made it clear that we cannot continue to maintain high unemployment rates in our black and brown communities. That is why this administration created the Community Employment Office, which will 36,000 jobs will be created annually for New Yorkers with income and young people living in economically disadvantaged areas. We continue to build on our strong track record of effective financial management and bold investments in M/WBE. [Minority and Women Business Enterprises]and a comprehensive economic recovery for working-class New Yorkers,” the Adams representative added.
