This symposium investigates the condition of urban Latinos and Blacks two decades after reports by the Kerner, Eisenhower, and Katzenbach commissions recommended sweeping reforms in urban policy. Twenty-nine researchers, politicians, and policymakers analyze the condition of the urban poor and the role of minorities in forming policies. The following topics are discussed: (1) urban conditions since the presidential commissions of the 1960s; (2) education and employment policies; (3) national unity; (4) human services and income policies; (5) economic and community development policies; (6) strategies for urban improvement; (7) financing new urban initiatives; (8) administering new urban initiatives; (9) the political feasibility of new urban policy initiatives; and (10) poverty and inequality in the 1990s. The following recommendations are suggested: (1) solve educational problems through joint action of the Latino and Black communities; (2) implement a two-generation approach to dropout prevention focusing on improving parents' job skills and parenting skills; (3) restructure the educational system at both the school and the institutional levels; (4) expand public-sector activities in medical care, education, housing, and child care; (5) provide incentives for self-sufficiency; and (6) plan and fund programs for a significant period of time to allow the programs to accomplish their goals. Policy implementation can be facilitated by the recent political trend toward decentralization, which has made more money available for state and local programs and given greater voice in policy formation to urban residents. Brief biographies of the contributors are appended. (FMW)