The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) was founded in September, 1976, during a three day symposium to address crime in urban low income areas. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Police Foundation and the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA). The Joint Center for Political Studies (JCPS) coordinated this unprecedented event in which sixty (60) top-ranking black law enforcement executives representing twenty-four (24) states and fifty-five (55) major cities gathered in the Washington, D.C. area to participate. They exchanged views about the critically high rate of crime in black urban communities and the socioeconomic conditions that lead to crime and violence. They raised questions about relevant issues such as fairness in the administration of justice, police community relations, the hiring and promotion of black police officers, and the unique problems of the black police executive.