The following is a statement from PolicyLink CEO Angela Glover Blackwell in response to President Obama’s first State of the Union address:

“A recovery that merely recreates our inequitable pre-recession economy is no recovery at all. Throughout his first year and his first State of the Union address, President Obama has made it clear that all Americans deserve to live in opportunity-rich communities. He has listened to and learned from those closest to our nation’s challenges.

During his the first year of Obama’s tenure, PolicyLink and our allies have:

• Pushed for greater investment in green jobs. The president listened.
• Advocated for career ladders that help a job turn into a lifelong profession. The president listened.
• Argued that job training is crucial to creating a sustainable, flexible 21^st Century workforce. The president listened.
• Shown that hiring local residents and steering projects to local, minority-owned businesses has a phenomenal impact on a community. The president listened.

Of course, listening is just the first step. We must now put these ideas and innovations into practice. The path is clear…the president and all allies of equity in America must now walk that path with purpose. A true national recovery depends on it.”

The first year of the Obama Era has been defined by noise - voracious political pundits, screaming Tea Partiers, and cries of “too left” and “not left enough” from competing corners of political world. With the surprise election of Scott Brown yesterday following a loud and boisterous campaign built on voters’ anger at a still-stagnant economy, the noise isn’t likely to ebb soon.

But hard work gets done beyond the noise. Check out Angela Glover Blackwell’s piece in the Huffington Post today, “Beyond the Noise — 12 Quiet Ways Obama is Building a More Equitable America.”

But the best ideas don’t come from Washington. They come from community leaders closest to our nation’s challenges.

How would you make sure Year Two of the Obama Era is a year of equity? What should the Administration and its allies make their top priority?

Please share your ideas in the comments section.