The state of Black America is a much debated topic in our nation. Pundits and scholars ponder what are the gaps that separate African Americans from other majority and minority cultures and why they exist. The issue has been attacked on many fronts; social, spiritual, cultural, legislative. While this multifaceted debated rages, more Black children are being left behind in our school systems, more Black men are wasting their youth in the prison system, more Black men and women are dying of curable diseases, and more Black families sit on the economic sideline while our nation prospers.

  In an unprecedented move, Black elected officials throughout the state of North Carolina have unilaterally agreed that the issues that face Black America in general and Black North Carolina in particular, cannot be adequately addressed without a uniform strategy that takes into account the many variables that converge to stymie the growth and prosperity of Black citizens in our community.