CORVALLIS - A symposium on the "State of Black Oregon: A Call to Action" will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Oregon State University Memorial Union ballroom, 26th and Jefferson Way.

The Urban League of Portland's State of Black Oregon report was published in July. The report showed that social and economic disparities and systemic disadvantage still exist for African Americans and other people of color in Oregon. The report contains a stark inventory of statistics that shows a persistent gap in living standards between black and white Oregonians - a gap that is growing wider as a result of the current economic downturn.

The featured speakers include Marcus C. Mundy, president of the Urban League of Portland; Robert Thompson, assistant professor in OSU's Department of Ethnic Studies; Henry Luvert, president of the Eugene chapter of the NAACP; and Carla Gary, assistant professor in the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity at the University of Oregon.