On May 6, national Black civil rights leaders participated in a call with former Vice President Joe Biden, the democratic presidential nominee, a day after the release of Lift Every Voice: The Biden Plan for Black America.

Among the participants were Reverend Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network; Melanie Campbell, convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable Public Policy Network; Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP; and Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, among others.

Melanie Campbell, convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable Public Policy Network shared the need to focus on issues critical to Black women, including racism, closing the wage gap and voter suppression.

“I am heartened by the efforts of Vice President Joe Biden to convene a call to highlight and uplift the often overlooked plight of African Americans, especially during a time when our community is experiencing the detrimental health and economic impacts of COVID-19 at an astounding rate,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO, NAACP.

“I am encouraged that the 2020 campaign’s first comprehensive plan to address issues facing Black America incorporated elements of the National Urban League’s Main Street Marshall Plan, a sweeping policy proposal for economic development and racial justice,” said

Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League.