ABSTRACT
The National Urban League has consistently emphasized the importance of a high-quality education in promoting the advancement of black Americans. Thus, the League has vigorously advocated initiatives and reforms to open the doors of educational opportunity and to secure equitable treatment of black students in the nation's educational institutions. Responding to the imperative, the National Urban League has mounted an unprecedented, movement-wide campaign to improve the education of black students in the public schools of the cities it serves. The National Urban League will continue to demand the policy responses and fiscal resources necessary to deal effectively with the educational crisis confronting black youth. The Urban League's Education Initiative, then, is the cornerstone of its agenda to brighten the social and economic future of black youth. Black students are graduating from high school at rates well below those of white students.
