John Edward Jacob (born 1934 in Trout, Louisiana) is a

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

leader. He served as the president of the

National Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

between 1982 and 1994. Jacob received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

and was a social worker in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

before joining the Urban League. In 1965, he became director of education and youth incentives at the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

chapter. Later he served as president and executive director of the San Diego Urban League. In 1979 he became executive vice-president of the national office under

Vernon Jordan Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr. (August 15, 1935 – March 1, 2021) was an American business executive and civil rights attorney who worked for various civil rights movement organizations before becoming a close advisor to President Bill Clinton. Jor ...

, whom he succeeded as president. During his tenure as Urban League president, Jacob fought cutbacks in federal social programs and the weakening of civil rights enforcement under the

Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

. In particular, he objected to the appointment of a conservative majority to the Civil Rights Commission that was hostile to vigorous protection of

, as well as the Justice Department's prosecutions of other public agencies engaged in affirmative action.

Urban Marshall Plan

In the early 1980s, Jacob helped develop a plan for urban recovery similar to the 1947

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

initiated to assist European nations after World War II. Aid was sought from private sectors to facilitate entry-level job training programs, and Jacob proposed the League give direct assistance from its own resources to poverty-stricken minorities and whites, including housing and job placement. In addition, he recommended the federal government institute full employment through substantial public works and job training programs, and along with other civil rights groups, supported economic pressure in the corporate world to develop markets and jobs for minorities. The son of a Baptist minister, Jacob was also an adherent of self-help. He promoted

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

tutoring, comprehensive teenage pregnancy prevention, and a male responsibility program for fatherhood, to address issues contributing to the cycle of poverty in the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

community. Jacob added voter registration, education, and drug control to the League's agenda of priorities. In contrast to Reagan, George H. W. Bush was initially receptive to Jacob's domestic Marshall Plan proposal, and Jacob welcomed dialogue with the new administration. But Bush's veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1990 soured the relationship. The early 1990s also saw new court decisions and conservative political pressure against affirmative action policies the Urban League supported.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of World Biography
* 1934 births Living people Howard University alumni American civil rights activists {{US-activist-stub