ST. LOUIS • Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, told a gathering of activists Friday that they were “in the fight of our lives, not just to save our cities but to save our young people.”

Clay was the keynote speaker at the national conference of the Urban League being held at America’s Center downtown.

The organization honored the Democratic congressman with its Legend Award at a black tie gala in his hometown.

In a fiery speech, he emphasized the importance of gathering in St. Louis at a time when he believes there is “an unprecedented threat” against equal employment, health care and fair policing.

“We are fighting to defeat the duplicitous and savage assault on voting rights which is being led directly from the White House,” Clay said. “And most importantly, we are fighting to never allow the forces of hate, intolerance, violence and bigotry.”

Clay noted that the House approved a measure on Wednesday that he sponsored that would create a U.S. Civil Rights Network within the National Parks Service to preserve sites significant to the civil rights movement.

“St. Louis is the perfect place for this year’s conference because you are literally standing on the front lines of that struggle,” he said.

Clay noted historic sites around the city where visitors could see the legacy of struggle and progress, including the Old Courthouse where Dred Scott’s case was tried and the Eads Bridge, which served as an escape route from the East St. Louis riots 100 years ago.

He rattled off a series of firsts for Ferguson — a city in his legislative district — including its first black police chief and city manager, as examples of advancement.

The city was the scene of protests after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, 18, by a police officer in 2014; leaders there later agreed to a federal reform pact.

The Urban League opened its new job training and education site there this week. The site of the facility on West Florissant Avenue is where a QuikTrip burned down during protests after Brown’s death.

Clay cited Whitney M. Young, a civil rights activist and former chief director of the Urban League, in his acceptance speech, saying: “Every man is our brother and every man’s burden is our own. Where poverty exists, all are poorer. Where hate flourishes, all are corrupted. Where injustice reins, all are unequal.”

The Urban League’s annual awards gala is named in Young’s honor.