Passing the Baton.(PERSPECTIVES: A MESSAGE FROM NRPA'S LEADERS)

Prior to being appointed director for Race, Equity And Leadership (REAL) at the National League of Cities, I served as the senior fellow and program director of the NLCs' Institute for Youth, Education and Families. In that role, I worked with mayors and other municipal leaders around the country in areas related to childhood obesity, disconnected youth, youth engagement and leadership, and youth master planning. Dr. King, one of the most prominent leaders in our country during the civil rights movement from the mid-1950s to 1968, was 39 years old when he was assassinated.