Philadelphia Black Leaders Oppose Live 8 Concert

Philadelphia Black Leaders Oppose Live 8 Concert

What: A coalition of black, Philadelphia-based business, community
and civic organizations will join with the Philadelphia
African-American Chamber of Commerce to convene a news
conference to express vehement opposition to the City's plan
to host the Live 8 Concert, here, on July 2.

Coalition organizers have been disappointed that the
Philadelphia Mayor's Office and local Live 8 leaders have
refused to ensure that black-owned businesses and black
workers can participate, equitably, in the substantial
projected economic impact of the concert.

Coalition organizers say that the unemployment rate for black
Philadelphians, who constitute 43.2 percent of the City's
population, is twice that of white residents, and that black
businesses in Philadelphia receive less than one percent of
the city of Philadelphia's annual contract revenues and less
than one percent of the city's private sector gross receipts.

The Coalition members believe it is especially ironic that the
Live 8 Concert, which purportedly is being planned to focus
world attention on economic inequities in Africa, is involved
in perpetuating the same economic injustices against blacks in
Philadelphia through its own racially exclusionary economic
practices.

When: Monday, June 20, 2005
11:00 a.m.

Where: Philadelphia Museum of Art
26th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, Pa.

Contact: A. Bruce Crawley
+1-215-922-7184
crawley-haskins@att.net

PRNewswire -- June 17

Source: African-American Chamber of Commerce

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