Price called prosecution of drug offenses "one of the most searing examples of racism in our country," citing statistics that the number of blacks convicted of drug offenses outnumber whites by 2 to 1, even though there are 5 times more white cocaine users.
The most urgent concern, Price said, is to attain a minimum standard of academic achievement.
"The achievement gap as I see it is not 'Can the South Bronx catch up with Scarsdale?' but, 'Can students in the South Bronx do the work for their grade level?'"
Mustafa M. Kamoga, a Gates computer science fellow who came to hear Price speak, said Price was "very knowledgeable."
"His real life examples that change can happen were good, as was his emphasis on economics," Kamoga said.
Price has been the president of the Urban League for six years, and previously worked for The New York Times editorial board and as vice president of the Rockefeller Foundation. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Yale Law School.