By: Marc H. Morial
President and CEO
National Urban League
On May 2nd, America, the National Urban League and I lost a dear friend when Jack Kemp passed away after a courageous fight against cancer. Kemp's eclectic life story included chapters as a former All-Pro quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, 18 years as a Member of Congress, a 1988 presidential candidate, Secretary of HUD under President George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole's 1996 Vice Presidential running mate and a tireless champion for civil rights and urban development.
In this era of gross partisan divisiveness, Jack Kemp stood out as an example of what we can accomplish when we put party labels aside and focus on the core American values of fairness, equal opportunity, shared responsibility and empowerment. While he is recognized as one of the architects of "Reaganomic" tax cuts to promote economic growth, he was also a self-professed "bleeding heart conservative," who was not afraid to buck party orthodoxy when it came to issues of equality. And he often did it with his customary blend of brashness and humor. Alluding to his days as an undersized AFL quarterback who overcame tremendous odds to win championships and achieve stardom, he once said that pro football "gave me a good sense of perspective to enter politics: I'd already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded and hung in effigy."
That toughness was evident as early as 1965, when Jack was president of the AFL Players' Association and my father, the late Dutch Morial, was President of the New Orleans chapter of the NAACP. Jack and Dutch were successful in getting the AFL All-Star game moved from New Orleans to Houston that year when they led a boycott by Black players who had been banned from restaurants, cabs and other public facilities in New Orleans. That fight led to the NFL requiring the New Orleans City Council to pass an ordinance in 1966 banning discrimination in public accommodations as a condition of granting a new franchise to the New Orleans Saints.
Jack Kemp went on as a New York Congressman and later, HUD Secretary and private citizen to lead fights for affordable housing, improvements in public housing, Community Development Block Grants, empowerment zones, affirmative action and greater inclusion of African Americans in the Republican Party. He once wrote, "The party of Lincoln needs to rethink and revisit its historic roots as a party of emancipation, liberation, civil rights and equality of opportunity for all."
From moving the ball forward on the football field to moving it forward on the fields of economic and social justice, Jack Kemp understood that there was no greater formula for success than teamwork and diversity. I was proud to know him as both a colleague and a friend. As the Republican Party struggles to redefine itself in the wake of its recent losses, it needs to look no further than the life and legacy of Jack Kemp.
On behalf of the National Urban League and our affiliates, I join all Americans in mourning his passing, and I offer my condolences to Joanne, his wife of 50 years, their children, Jeffrey, Jennifer, Judith and Jimmy, and the couple's 17 grandchildren.
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