Officials seek to increase blacks in leadership programs

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
Feb. 18, 2004
Officials with The Montgomery Institute and a group of residents, religious leaders and business leaders took the first steps Tuesday to involve more blacks in community leadership development programs.
Judy Phillips, The Montgomery Institute's interim director, met with several black leaders discussing ways to involve blacks in Leadership Lauderdale and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Leadership Lauderdale teaches grass roots leadership qualities by giving participants information on several subjects, identifying problem areas and teaching them to build solutions.
Leadership Lauderdale is sponsored by the East Mississippi Business Development Corp., Meridian Community College and The Montgomery Institute.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People teaches participants techniques to effectively work with others to solve problems. The program's cost is underwritten by The Riley Foundation.
Louis Sutton, president and chief professional officer of the United Way of East Mississippi, attended and helped organize the meeting. He said it's "important for us to develop African-American grassroots leadership for the future."
The Rev. William Brown with the East Mississippi Baptist State Convention called the meeting "fruitful." He said he looks forward to meeting again and sharing ideas on how to get more blacks involved.
Other black leaders at the meeting included Obie Clark, past president of the NAACP; Clark's wife, Melba, owner of Uni-Fam Publishers; Jerry Johnson, organizer with the local AMOS Network; and Walter Patton, president of the local NAACP chapter.