THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, November 4, 1994               TAG: 9411040728
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   51 lines

CONFERENCE AIMS TO HELP LIVES OF BLACK RESIDENTS

A four-day Strategy 2000 conference on improving the lives of African-Americans throughout Hampton Roads will begin Wednesday at the Omni Waterside Hotel in Norfolk.

Joe Clark, a nationally known former high school principal, will be the keynote speaker at the wrap-up banquet Saturday night.

Clark's story about reviving an inner-city high school in East Orange, N.J., caught the imagination of Hollywood and resulted in a movie, ``Lean on Me,'' starring Morgan Freeman.

Strategy 2000, co-sponsored by the Urban League of Hampton Roads Inc., is an effort to analyze the problems facing the region's black population, pool resources and devise solutions.

The campaign seeks improvements in five areas: crime, economic development, education, housing and health.

The theme of the conference will be ``Mapping Our Destiny: Head in the Present, Foot in the Past.''

``Out of this conference, we want to come away with an awareness of what other organizations are doing in the community and a plan for coordinating and maximizing our resources in the African-American community,'' said Mary Redd, executive director of the Urban League.

Organizations, churches and civic leagues will exhibit their programs at the conference. ``This provides an opportunity to demonstrate what the African-American community is doing for itself,'' Redd said.

Workshops will be held throughout the four days.

Discussions on Wednesday will concern economic development; on Thursday, education and housing; on Friday, health; and on Saturday, crime.

Another highlight will be the film, ``Surviving the Odds - The Black Tax,'' sponsored by WHRO television at 7 and 8 p.m. Wednesday. Audience discussion will follow.

At 11 a.m. Thursday, mortgage counselors will be available to help pre-qualify perspective home buyers. There also will be a lunch, free to the first 100 registrants.

Also on Thursday, an open reception will begin at 6 p.m., with representatives of the United Negro College Fund. It will be followed by a movie about the late tennis great Arthur Ashe. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

THE DETAILS

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by CNB