Knoxville Area Urban League 20th Year of “Shoes for Schools”

Knoxville Area Urban League 20th Year of “Shoes for Schools” Draws Over 6,000 

by Vivian Underwood Shipe, The Tennessee Tribune

KNOXVILLE, TN — As she looked out over the crowd of over 6,000 Knoxville Area Urban Leagues, President/CEO Phyllis Young Nichols joyfully remarked that it was the largest back-to-school effort by the organization in the 20 years since they started giving children school shoes.

The Knoxville Area Urban League began in Knoxville in 1968. It is a civil rights, economic development and social service organization and is a member of the National Urban League, the oldest community-based movement in the United States, devoted to empowering African Americans. 

Stretching across the vast entrance way to Caswell Park in East Knoxville and stretching down the road for almost two city blocks were excited parents and their children, there to check in and receive an armband that would direct them to the table holding one of the two most precious items being given out: a box with their name on a pair of brand-new shoes. They also would then receive a brand-new backpack stuffed full of school supplies.

 

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