Statement of Purpose for 10-2-10, One Nation Working Together Mass Mobilization to Washington, DC

On October 2, 2010, the NAACP will be part of national coalition of civil and human rights groups, religious denominations, labor unions and many
others who will lead tens of thousands of Americans to Washington to demand jobs, justice and education for all Americans.

The purpose of this march is focus the attention of the Congress and White House on the real problems affecting millions of Americans and on the
unfinished agenda and issues that our fellow citizens face every day of their lives such as the frightening high unemployment numbers (see
accompanying map), sub-standard education and the criminal justice system which today amounts to the most intense mass incarceration system in the
history of human civilization.

It is time for corporate apologists in the U.S. Senate , who are blocking a recovery for the rest of us, to recognize what workers already know: we
are in a jobs emergency that requires a bold, emergency response. And it is also time for those in the current administration to stop trying to
paint a rosy picture of this jobs crisis with platitudes and come up with workable monetary policies that will begin to restore our nation’s
infrastructure, by taking more people out of the unemployment insurance lines and in line to cash their paychecks.

Nationwide, the “jobs deficit” is about 11 million, with five job-seekers for every job opening. What’s more, every economist, regardless of party
affiliation, agrees that more people have been out of work for longer periods of time than at any other time since the Great Depression.

The grim numbers for the current recession don’t even begin to tell the tale of the suffering faced by millions of our fellow citizens:

• 8 million jobs lost; an overall unemployment rate above 10%
• Unemployment for blacks over 16 was 15.6% in July according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics up from 15.4% in June. the Latino unemployment
  rate was 12.1%
• 1.2 million families have or are losing their homes
• The right to organize unions and bargain for better wages and working conditions has been trampled upon.
• Many schools have been closed, teachers are laid off, and rising tuition is slamming the door to higher education
• The financial crisis and Gulf oil disaster are results of the roll back of regulatory oversight and accountability to the public

One Nation

For more than a century, the NAACP has worked to create One Nation, one dream and one future. The One Nation campaign is about reordering our
nation’s focus and priorities to invest in our most valuable resource-our people!

We believe everyone must have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream-a quality education and a chance to achieve their goals One Nation
seeks to transcend our superficial differences and bring us together in a common quest for equal opportunity and justice for all.