THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996              TAG: 9603130569
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

MINORITIES MUST INVEST IN THE YOUNG, A LEADER SAYS

The nation's minorities and civil-rights groups must reach out to young people and invest in them, National Urban League President Hugh B. Price said Tuesday night.

``We as African Americans must step up to the plate and assume responsibility and make sure our kids are not left behind,'' Price said.

Price, president of the Urban League for almost two years, said cutting federal assistance programs, such as welfare, and building more prisons, is not the answer to the nation's crime and financial problems.

He told more than 600 local Urban League supporters that ``welfare recipients will be thrust into the labor market with little room, much less use, for them.''

The last thing we need, Price said, is welfare reform that leaves mothers and children with nowhere to turn.

``We need to embrace a different reform,'' Price said. ``Where the local unemployment rate is high, the public sector must fill the void.''

Improving the quality of life is the answer, he said. ``Let each one of us make a pledge that we will extend a hand . . . where all children can march on. . . upward toward the light.''

Price's remarks come at a time when poverty programs, affirmative action policies and juvenile rehabilitation services are under fire.

Price spoke at the Urban Leagues of Hampton Roads' sixth annual awards banquet, held at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.

The annual banquet raises money for Urban League programs and honors local residents and companies for community service and their commitment to diversity, said Mary L. Redd Nelson, executive director.

The Urban League presented the following awards:

The A. Phillip Randolph Award for equal opportunity practices to USAA Mid-Atlantic Region.

The Lester B. Granger Award for including minorities in the work force and management to The Virginian-Pilot.

The Vivian C. Mason Meritorious Service Award for community activism to Ellen Pryor Harvey, who serves on a number of Norfolk civic organizations.

The Marian P. Capps Education Award for volunteer instructors to Joseph Hoffenberg and David Matson, a police officer who teaches CPR in the community. by CNB