<p>The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other activist groups must continue to wage their historic fight for equality so that gains made by blacks in the corporate world and other arenas are not lost, civil rights leaders said Monday.</p><p>Speaking at the national convention of the SCLC, the Rev. Al Sharpton said last week's renewal by President Bush of the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 law which opened polls to millions of black Americans by outlawing racist voting practices, was because of such activism.</p><p>"Many are acting like the struggle is yesterday. Don't act like there are not civil-rights issues today," Sharpton said. "We come to re-up so we can stay on the battlefields and keep doing in the 21st century what was done in the 20th century."</p><p>Sharpton, Martin Luther King III and SCLC President Charles Steele were among those who took part in a panel discussion, titled "A Changing Movement: From the Streets to the Suites."</p><p>Sharpton lashed out at the notion that blacks in high corporate positions represent the new black power, saying the SCLC and other civil rights groups paved the way for their success by fighting for equality. He said blacks who have succeeded in the corporate world must not turn their backs on the activists who helped open doors for them.</p><p>"When people think they are in the suites as an alternative to the streets, they will soon be back in the streets with us in a short matter of time," Sharpton said. "You won't last long if we stay out of the streets."</p><p>King said only some blacks have been blessed enough to become corporate leaders.</p><p>"The masses of people in our communities are unfortunately _ even in 2006 _ still in the streets," King said. "I believe this organization will always be an activist organization, which means that we must never ever abandon the streets."</p><p>Steele called on blacks to keep up the fight for equality and urged them not to forget their heritage of slavery.</p><p>"You can't expect a system that enslaved you to save you. This is the same system," he said. "You have to fight for your rights on a daily basis."</p><p>Sharpton was asked by a member of the audience what black political candidates can do to get more support from the Democratic Party.</p><p>"We've been the most loyal people in the party; yet we've been treated like some, some mistresses _ that you can have fun with us and date us, but you can't take us home to your parents," Sharpton replied. "We need to be able to represent our own interests. ... If they cannot respect our interests, then we need to be talking about independent alternatives."</p><p>The Atlanta-based SCLC, which Martin Luther King Jr. helped found in 1957 to fight segregation, helped organize some of the defining moments of the civil rights era, including the march on Washington in 1963 and the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march two years later.</p><p>In recent years, the SCLC has opened centers in Dayton and Israel designed to train citizens, police, teachers and community leaders how to solve disputes without violence, and the group has plans for more around the globe.</p><p>"We're going to saturate the world with conflict-resolution centers," Steele said.</p><p>King said blacks should stop watching violent movies and television shows and that conflict-resolution needs to be taught in the schools, beginning in nursery school.</p><p>Sharpton took a swipe at Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor, for not attending the convention.</p><p>"We should have been welcomed here by a black secretary of state running for governor," Sharpton said. "Whether you are a black Republican or a black Democrat, you was a black nothing who couldn't vote until this organization went to the streets."</p><p>Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Blackwell's campaign, said Blackwell had a conflict in his schedule and wasn't able to rearrange it so he could speak to the SCLC.</p><p>Steele took over the presidency in November 2004 at the board's request after squabbling and questionable management left the SCLC near bankruptcy. Steele said the SCLC is now on solid financial footing and has raised $2 million for a new headquarters in Atlanta it plans to begin building Aug. 31.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cdeddc)</p>
