Participants at the first Black-Brown Summit called for drug rehabilitation, job training and other programs to reduce the disproportionate number of blacks and Hispanics represented in state and federal prisons.

The event drew more than 100 members and leaders from the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens from across the nation to the Adam's Mark Hotel in Dallas on Monday for two days of of workshops, discussions and coalition-building activities.

Leaders pointed out "unequal education" and a disproportionate number of blacks and Hispanics that together make up more than 70 percent of the prison population instead of being in college or taking leadership roles in society.

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins delivered the keynote address in which he said that previous prosecutors and judges were "more concerned with conviction rates" than trying to address the roots of crime such as poverty, drug addiction and other social ills.

"Where did it get Dallas?" he asked. "We have the highest crime rate in the nation."

Mr. Watkins, a local member of the NAACP and mentor with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, said his office is working to free the innocent who were jailed. His office is also trying to create prison drug treatment programs and vocational training and is partnering with businesses to make sure freed inmates have jobs.

U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., told the group that he is disheartened by seeing blacks and Hispanics during prison visits.

"We are wasting so many resources in our country by not trying to rehabilitate and bring back into the mainstream thousands and hundreds of these who could be such great assets to our society," he said, receiving a standing ovation.

Hector Flores, past national president of LULAC, said crime sometimes leads to racial tensions among blacks and Hispanics who often share the same impoverished neighborhoods.

"We both have been marginalized, and we're conditioned to accept it," Mr. Flores said. "We often see each other as competition for scarce job opportunities, competition in the classroom and competition for business opportunities."

But Mr. Flores said the best way to iron out those tensions and competition is for both communities to advance through education and other opportunities.

Rene Martinez, who oversees the Dallas Independent School District's mentorship program, said tens of thousands of area children have one or both parents in prison, putting them at risk of following in their footsteps.

Mr. Martinez said the school district's partnership with the Big Brothers Big Sisters during the past five years gives officials hope that the cycle of poverty, crime and prison can be broken in target schools such as those in Pleasant Grove.

"Attendance, behavior and grades improve when they are mentored by caring adult ... all of which are very important when we talk about the dropout rate," Mr. Martinez said.