Although he’s already got his hands full with the steep sloping economy, the war in Iraq, and everything in between, President Barack Obama is now being asked to address issues specific to the black community.

According to the Associated Press, the National Urban League (NUL) recently released its annual “State of Black America” report, in which they ask Obama to specifically address disparities in black unemployment, foreclosures, education and health care.

The President has said that the way for government to help minorities is by improving things like these exact same issues.

However, the NUL feels he needs to “be more specific.”

“The issue is not only (blacks) doing better, but in closing these persistent gaps in statistics in this country,” Marc Morial, president and CEO of the 99-year-old Urban League, told the AP. “Our index shows that the gap in African-American status is about 71 percent that of white Americans. We will not rest until that number is at 100, and there is no gap.”

The following are a few recommendations included in the 288-page reports, according to the AP:

Ensure that the stimulus package’s green job creation includes poor urban communities.
Increase funding for job training and placement for disadvantaged workers.
Guarantee full-day schooling for all 3 and 4 year olds.
Expand the school day to account for working parents and families without nearby relatives to help with after-school care.
Fund mortgage counseling and education programs for minorities.
Implement universal health care and a “comprehensive” system to provide blacks with health education, prevention and intervention.
With a little over two months in office, President Obama hasn’t had the time to spend on anything else besides trying to fix the economy. But in 2007, as the junior senator from Illinois, he wrote the foreword to the “State of Black America” report, which focused on the problems facing black men.

“This sad story is a stark reminder that the long march toward true and meaningful equality in America isn’t over,” Obama wrote. “We have a long way to go.”

For more info on the National Urban League, visit them at NUL.org.

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