The Jacksonville Urban League received the Whitney M. Young Jr. Leadership Award for Advancing Racial Equality from the National Urban League during its annual conference in Detroit.
Whitney M. Young was a civil rights pioneer who spent most of his adult life transcending barriers of race, wealth and social standing to advance the welfare of black Americans. His goal was to gain access for blacks to good jobs, education, housing, health care and social services. His tactics were reason, persuasion and negotiation.
Richard Danford, president of the Jacksonville Urban League accepted the award on behalf of the board of directors, staff and volunteers.
Also, Debra Kloeppel Wotiz, the new chair of the Urban League board of directors, is working with Danford to expand the number of Head Start program facilities in Duval County.
The strategy includes seeking donated space, such as previously used schools, churches and suitable commercial buildings. Space that is provided at no or low cost helps Head Start satisfy its “matching fund” requirement as mandated by the Department of Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families.
Danford and Wotiz are also looking at the construction or acquisition of one or more locations with the hope of designing a model Head Start program that can serve to guide other grantees of the federal program in the development of classrooms.