The last day of the National Action Network’s annual convention in New York will focus on measurable action that federal, state and local governments and grassroots organizations can take to improve the quality of life for African-Americans, the Rev. Al Sharpton told "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" on Wednesday.

The session, “Measuring the Movement,” scheduled for the last day of the network’s April 14-17 conference, follows up a meeting Sharpton, NAACP President Ben Jealous and National Urban League President Marc Morial had with President Barack Obama at the White House last month to discuss issues of importance to the black community.

Obama has come under fire - particularly by commentator and television interviewer Tavis Smiley - for what some see as his failure to speak out more directly on behalf of African-Americans and to develop an that would specifically address the needs of black Americans, who are disproportionately suffering from high unemployment, less access to health care and poor educational outcomes.

Smiley, appearing on "TJMS" last week chastised Sharpton, Morial and Jealous – without naming them – saying Obama had not been pressed hard enough to act in the interest of African-Americans. Smiley also announced he would hold an accountability forum in Chicago on March 20 entitled "We Count: The Black Agenda is the American Agenda." As part of his comments, he opined that “a chorus of black leaders have started singing a new song,” saying that the president doesn’t need a black agenda.

The conversation will be moderated by Smiley and, according to his Web site, invited panelists include Cornel West, Valerie Jarrett, Michael Eric Dyson, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Barbara Lee, Tom Burrell, Morial, Jealous and Sharpton, among others. A link to free registration is available on the site.

Smiley said Sharpton would not commit to attending the event; Sharpton later said he had not been invited. The activist had been a regular participant in Smiley’s 10-year run with the "State of the Black Union" gatherings, which Smiley canceled earlier this year.

After Sharpton announced his event early Wednesday, Joyner had a question. “I have to ask, Rev. Al,” Joyner said. “Was Tavis invited?”

“We’ll definitely invite Tavis,” Sharpton said, adding that Smiley’s forum and another scheduled by Ron Daniels, syndicated columnist were “good.” but adding “this is a different model. And we’ll invite Tavis and everybody else as long as they talk about what they are going to do. This is not a rap session; this is a map session.”

Sharpton said his program, which would focus on jobs, health care and education, would gather the heads of the major civil rights organizations, administrators of state and local governments and leaders of grassroots organizations to commit to concrete actions their groups would take in the coming year and determine how success would be measured.

“We need to have national accountability plans about what we’re going to do,” Sharpton said.

“We have to have a plan; we have to have deliverables,” he said.

The public is invited to attend the free event and can sign up at www.NationalActionNetwork.net and can be followed on Twitter. The agenda for the entire conference is available on the site.

Once the agenda is set at the meeting, the public would be able to “grade us by our performance and our deliverables,” Sharpton said.

“Anything short of that," he said, "is just talking loud and saying nothing.”

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Jiggy5. Why are you getting your white azz on this black website hating on black people/ You have lost you cracker-azz mind! SHUTUP, CRACKER! TAKE YOUR RACISM SOMEWHERE YOU PIECE OF RACIST TRASH!!!

by   
Glatham
March 4, 2010, 2:14 pm
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They are heroes to the black community. I don't listen to racists.
Glatham, you are dead wrong. If Jackson and Sharpton are heroes to you, you have a twisted moral compass.

by   
Jiggy5
March 4, 2010, 12:18 pm
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The sick-o pink freak doesn’t even hide his homosexuality, he also uses the names “pollypocket & adrienne”. He wants someone to believe he’s a “negro” but he spends every comment blasting OUR President or anything he THINKS will benefit Black people. He hates Sharpton & Jackson because he knows they keep their feet in racist’s azz. He needs to be worried about the REAL race pimps: limbaugh & beck, those playa’s have racists on the stroll, getting them & keeping them rich!

by   
Sevennotrump
March 4, 2010, 11:28 am
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Glatham: The thing is, it is only ONE (1) stupid, pink-azz racist pig, using 15 different usernames. (He may have even created a few more lately, as he knows some of the older ones have earned a bad reputation). This is his job; the klan pays him 7.30 per hr & he’s on here all day. Using all of his diferent FOOLISH NAMES, HE USES “HOODTECHIE” as if that’s supposed to make someone think he’s from the hood.

by   
Sevennotrump
March 4, 2010, 11:26 am
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I guess the racists who comment on this blog think that black folk are supposed to sit around and continue to allow them to work their racism on us while we sit on our hands. Why are they getting on our black websites pretending to be black?----giving themselves away by their racist rhetoric. Race is a big factor in American life because racists make it so. Al Sharpton, Jessse Jackson and all of the civil rights leaders have dedicated their lives to fighting for black folks rights.
They are heroes to the black community. I don't listen to racists.

by   
Glatham
March 4, 2010, 10:55 am
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all these Negroes are doing is posturing. none of them do anything and who elected them our leaders. none of them could lead dog catchers.

by
Fedup

by   
Ebyers
March 4, 2010, 7:34 am
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I think that what the race hustling organizations should do is analyze what they have been doing for the LAST 40 years. The so called "civil rights" organization has NOT helped blacks at all, if so urban communities would not be in the shape that they are in now. Its time to disband and ignore these organizations and return to rugged individualism.

by   
Uncletom
March 4, 2010, 6:30 am
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