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RALEIGH – The fifth annual North Carolina Black Summit will focus this weekend on the road to economic recovery and on getting more black leaders to help pave the way. The Alliance of the North Carolina Black Elected Officials is hosting the event.

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton received a standing ovation as he told dozens of residents the economic future is looking bright. The black population saw some of the greatest devastation during the recession.

“Through retraining, through entrepreneurship we have seen a lot of those people get back into the work force, and I just wanted to thank them for fighting through this tough economy,” Dalton said.

The economy was at the forefront of the summit. But another concern for the alliance is finding young black leaders to lead the economy into recovery because days are dwindling for many of the current leaders.

“The African-American leaders in North Carolina, in the General Assembly and in the local communities is maxing out, and I'm one of them,” Frederick Yates, the alliance chair, said.

Yates said the economy will only prosper with more diverse leadership.

“This is not a black America, this isn't a white America; this is America, and we need to level the playing field,” Yates said. “We do need some young leadership.”

The topics for this year's break-out sessions included gangs, education, political action, green economy and health care.

The summit will wrap up Saturday. A panel of black elected officials will then discuss where the alliance has been effective and where it needs to make adjustments.