Statement by the President on Secretary Gardner's Decision To Serve as Chairman of the Urban Coalition.
I AM gratified that Secretary Gardner has agreed to serve as chairman of the Urban Coalition.
As Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, John Gardner has demonstrated that he understands the dimensions and the urgency of the problems facing our cities.
All of us know that the solution to the Nation's urban problems requires a new breadth of leadership in the cities themselves; not only leadership from Federal, State, and local governments, but bold leadership from the private sector.
The Urban Coalition offers such leadership. It promises to play a significant role in the effort to find solutions for the disturbing problems of the cities.
When Secretary Gardner told me about his interest in the chairmanship of the Urban Coalition, I encouraged and urged him to accept it. I know he intends to work closely with the National Alliance of Businessmen and the Urban Institute, and I have assured him of my cooperation in the important efforts which he and the Urban Coalition are undertaking.
Note: The Urban Coalition grew out of a meeting of mayors and national leaders held in Washington on July 31, 1967. The group met to create a coordinating structure through which existing leadership and organizations could work together locally and nationally in a broad attack on the conditions that lead to violence in the cities. A convocation of 1,200 persons adopted on August 24, 1967, a statement of principles that became the charter of the Urban Coalition. In the spring of 1968 the Coalition was organized as a nonprofit corporation. A related nonprofit corporation, the Urban Coalition Action Council, was then formed to mobilize public support for the movement's legislative objectives. Each corporation is supported by contributions from a variety of interested individuals and groups including business firms and labor organizations. Local coalitions are being established in cities throughout the Nation.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President on Secretary Gardner's Decision To Serve as Chairman of the Urban Coalition. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/238956