The Urgency of Now: Affiliate Newswire Interview with Nancy Flake Johnson

On Tuesday, April 12th, the National Urban League (NUL) released the “State of Black America” report in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the first time the Urban League held this event away from the legislative halls of Washington, D.C. Instead, the Urban League held the event at Clark Atlanta University, an HBCU in the middle of what many would say is the heart of the civil rights movement, Atlanta, Georgia. Today, the state of Georgia lies at the hub of a wave of voter suppression laws, impeding the right to vote for many minority communities.

Fighting this wave and continuing the work of the Urban League, is President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, Nancy Flake Johnson (NFJ). The Urban League of Greater Atlanta is now celebrating its 102nd birthday, with Ms. Johnson at the head of the affiliate since 2008. Having held positions at the Detroit Urban League, and herself being an HBCU graduate, we spoke with her regarding the State of Black America’s release, it’s significance to the Movement, and how the Urban League of Greater Atlanta has responded to Georgia’s voter suppression laws.

The Affiliate Newswire (ANW) team sat down with Ms. Johnson to have a candid conversation about all that has been unfolding and how the Urban League is responding to the Urgency of Now. Here are some highlights from our discussion.

ANW: Last week, the Urban League Movement reconvened for the first in-person release of the State of Black America (SOBA) in two years.  Can you share with us why this publication is significant?

NFJ:  The SOBA report’s origin was really brilliant. The fact that Vernon E. Jordan, our former national president, and a native Atlantan, was inspired by President Ford’s “State of the Union” address in which the President didn’t make mention of issues or conditions that impact black and brown communities. Mr. Jordan thought that it was a great idea to create a “State of Black America” to highlight the work that needed to be done addressing issues that affect our communities.

 In its latest edition, a tradition expanding more than 40 years; bringing the launch and the release of SOBA home to Atlanta is significant. Marc Morial, current NUL president, chose to focus the State of Black America’s message on the plot to destroy democracy – It’s bold, it’s real, and we cannot sugar coat it. Georgia is ‘ground zero’ for voter suppression. In a state in which one party dominates three chambers of government, it really shines a light on how vulnerable our democracy is.  
 

In Georgia, Black people make up over 30% of the population; nationally, we’re told, we’re only about 15%.  We have a very strong residential presence and power. If the rest of the state is split on an issue, the black community can impact the direction of the outcome.

It’s important to understand that we’re fighting several fronts here – we have an aggressive legislature that is not fighting for black and brown communities. The legislature just passed an open carry gun law, in an environment in which our communities’ relationship to police is very precarious. Things still are very dangerous to be Black in America. It’s important that we re-educate our community, and the country, as to what it is happening.

ANW: In addition to the National Urban League (NUL) having a SOBA publication, the Urban League of Greater Atlanta publishes its own State of Black Atlanta publication.  What was the driving force behind establishing this publication? Do you see any correlation between your publication and NUL’s report? What have you discovered about the information that’s been collected?

NFJ: The Urban League of Greater Atlanta has commissioned our first “State of Black Georgia” (SOBG) Report that will be released this Fall. Our goal is close the racial wealth gap. We need to leverage knowing where we are, to get to where we want to be. We have launched as a Financial Empowerment Center. We are the bridge for our people to connect to opportunities – we meet people where they are. We are going to link our SOBG publication  the Gubernatorial and Senate races in the fall, and really put these candidates to the test around improving the state of black residents of Georgia.

ANW: During your remarks at Clark Atlanta University, you mentioned that Georgia is on the frontlines dealing with voting suppression laws. How is the affiliate mobilizing to combat such efforts? Does your SOBA report communicate the impact of voter suppression in the greater Atlanta region?

NFJ: When I came into this position over 14 years ago, I came to the realization that this isn’t work we can do alone – we need to collaborate and strategize. We respect each other’s lane; we collaborate with each other. Following the lead of our Columbus, Ohio affiliate, every Thursday, at 4 PM, we convene with leaders that serve the black community in an open forum where we can share what’s happening within our communities from our respective lanes. We started doing that in April 2020, at the start of the pandemic. We have members of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, NAACP, the ACLU, Atlanta Business League, Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, The King Center, the Georgia Labor Council, AARP and others, across various sectors – we get together, and we share and then, we must strategize.

We’ve partnered with black radio stations throughout metro Atlanta and across the state via a “black radio – united for the vote” campaign. It’s about educating the community. On the stations, we have PSAs and frontline leaders of GOTV organizations laying out the case as to why voter education, voter registration, and voter mobilization is required. We’ve shared this with our affiliate colleagues, and we can do this across the nation, mobilizing millions of listeners and prospective voters – especially young voters.

Another way that we’ve found that we can complement the work of our collaborating civic action partners is voter registration and education. We’ve distributed Reclaim Your Vote Steps to Voting door to door, engaged in phone banking and hosted state-wide webinars that have explained why civic engagement is vital, voter registration, the changes in the law, how to vote absentee and we have amplified the work of our brother and sister non-profits in getting people to the polls.

While there are several important impacts on voting that are part of Georgia’s voter suppression law – SB202 – such as shortened early voting days and times, major reductions in the number and access of drop boxes across the state, numerous polling location closures and more complications for those who want to vote absentee, the most egregious part of the law is that it provides a path for the party of power in the state to take over election boards and change the outcome of an election.

And at the 11th hour of this year’s Georgia Legislative Session, the state legislature passed a bill, SB 441, that authorizes the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to launch investigations into allegations of election fraud that could put the results of an election in doubt. The agency would also have subpoena power over election-related documents. These changes are reminiscent of centuries of voter intimidation that the black community knows all too well.

We have much work to do to ensure fair and safe elections in 2022 and in the years to come. The ULGA will be on the frontlines continuing to fight for our voting rights because there is an Urgency of NOW. Democracy is in fact at risk in our country and our communities are the primary targets of these efforts and will suffer the most if they succeed. We cannot let that happen.