Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

"As long as we're unified and doing our best to play our game, we believe no one in the world can beat us."
- Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks' Finals MVP

This year’s NBA Finals sparked a kind of excitement that many of us haven’t experienced since before the pandemic. The excitement from Die-hard Knicks day ones to passive fans was as unavoidable as it was contagious. Royal Blue and Orange filled airports, sports bars, TV screens, and our social feeds for 10 days of the five-game series.

And the energy of the Finals couldn’t have arrived at a more needed moment. The weeks and months leading up to the Game 5 win on June 13th have been riddled with images of war, skyrocketing gas prices, and political turmoil that left many of us disengaged and, at times, helplessly overwhelmed. Then, for the first time since 1973, the Knicks reached the NBA Finals.

NEW YORK (June 18, 2026) — National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial has requested a meeting with the NCAA’s Board of Governors to “rebuild trust and accountability” in the wake of the organization’s comparison of college athletes to prison labor under the Thirteenth Amendment’s “slavery exception.”

“The NCAA’s decision to invoke a legal precedent rooted in the constitutional exception for slavery and involuntary servitude, to argue against college athletes receiving basic workplace protections, is deeply troubling,” Morial wrote in a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker.

A model for equitable growth. See how the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago is a destination for people who refuse to accept the status quo. | Join us this Tuesday! Use code NUL at checkout to get 15% off your ticket for Urban League Night at Step Afrika!'s critically acclaimed performance. | Ready to level up your career? Connect with recruiters, discover new opportunities, and get expert career advice, all in one place. Get started here. | Black history matters. See how the legacy of Juneteenth represents not only a day to celebrate freedom but a reminder that delay is not denial. | What’s the future of student loans? Catch the replay of our webinar to get a breakdown of the major student loan changes taking effect July 1. | We won’t back down. Too much is at stake to stay silent. Donate today to stand with us as we fight for civil rights, economic opportunity + more.

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

Filing Urges Court to Immediately Suspend the New Map for Upcoming Elections

On behalf of the Memphis Urban League, the Legal Defense Fund today joined the NAACP lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s newly enacted congressional map that intentionally discriminates against Black voters. Today’s filing asked the federal court to issue a preliminary injunction, temporarily halting implementation of the map for the 2026 elections while the lawsuit proceeds.

Timed to Father's Day and the national conversation around the importance of fathers' well-being, the Greater Washington Urban League or GWUL (Washington, DC), in partnership with DC Health, Help Me Grow, and Generation DMV, is proud to announce the inaugural Birthing Black: Fatherhood Liberated: Healing the Mind. Reclaiming the Legacy training program taking place June 17-18 in Washington, D.C.

The first-of-its-kind training is designed for Black wellness providers and other healthcare professionals interested in strengthening the pipeline of certified providers focused on the unique needs of Black fathers, who are often overlooked in conversations surrounding pregnancy, birth, and mental health.

Community members highlighting new beginnings Saturday afternoon (June 6th) during the first annual Redemption Walk in Grand Rapids.

The event, organized by the Urban League of West Michigan (Grand Rapids, MI) and Cure Violence, brought residents together to publicly represent growth, accountability and positive change.

“A lot of members of our community, including myself, made very poor choices and decisions in the past,” said Rufus Will Granderson, event organizer and program manager of trauma and informed care with Cure Violence.

Organizers said the walk was designed to acknowledge past mistakes while celebrating those who have worked to turn their lives around.

“We want to make a public declaration of our ownership over our past and our present,” Granderson said. “We want to say that we’ll no longer be held by our past mistakes and that we’re moving positively in the future.”