Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

"Last night, the Television Academy confirmed what its own nominations told us two months ago: this is not a talent problem, it is a systems problem. When every winner across all twelve lead and supporting acting categories is white, in the same year that followed the industry's loudest promises about equity, the pattern is the story, not any single ceremony." – April Reign

More than a decade ago, a simple hashtag sparked a national reckoning in Hollywood.

When activist April Reign launched #OscarsSoWhite after the Academy Awards once again failed to recognize diverse talent, she gave voice to a frustration that millions of Americans had long felt. The problem was never simply who received nominations. It was about who gets to tell stories, whose humanity is deemed worthy of recognition, and who holds power in an industry that shapes how America sees itself.

NEW YORK (September 14, 2026) — With National Voter Registration Day arriving September 15 and the 2026 midterms bearing down, the National Urban League's Reclaim Your Vote (RYV) campaign is mobilizing its affiliate network in a coordinated, community-by-community push to register and mobilize voters.

From now through Election Day, Urban League affiliates nationwide are running phone and text banks, door-to-door canvassing, poll worker recruitment, and Volunteer Deputy Registrar trainings, all under the Reclaim Your Vote banner, a nonpartisan campaign to protect the ballot is to make sure every eligible voter is registered, informed, and ready to cast it.

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

"The rich nations must use their vast resources of wealth to develop the underdeveloped, school the unschooled, and feed the unfed." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It is a peculiar time in America, when economists offer varying outlooks on our economy. Some herald the artificial intelligence era as a period of great prosperity. The stock markets continue to climb, nearly unscathed by a war that costs the nation nearly $1 billion every day. And the current administration, despite firing the official overseeing the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly jobs report just over a year ago, says the job market shows signs of growth.

But for most Americans, the reality paints a much dimmer picture. 

NEW YORK (September 8, 2026) — Today, Lonnie Bunch, the first Black person to lead the Smithsonian Institution, stepped down after increased White House pressure and oversight on museum exhibitions. The National Urban League, which is opening the Urban Civil Rights Museum in Harlem this fall, the first civil rights museum in New York, is calling for increased protection of Black history across all institutions. Among his accomplishments, Lonnie Bunch led the development of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.

NEW YORK (September 8, 2026) — National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement in response to the death of Greater Phoenix Urban League President and CEO George Dean:

"George Dean's decades of leadership, service, and unwavering commitment to equity transformed lives and strengthened communities across Arizona and throughout the Urban League Movement.

"George was a devoted servant leader who spent more than three decades leading the Greater Phoenix Urban League and more than 25 years as an Urban League executive. He served as President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Urban League beginning in 1992, after previously leading Urban League affiliates in Sacramento, California, and Omaha, Nebraska. Throughout his tenure, he guided the organization with fiscal accountability, community responsiveness, and a steadfast commitment to expanding opportunity for underserved communities.

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

New York City’s troubling decline in reading scores, despite one of the most ambitious literacy reform efforts in the nation, is a wakeup call for the entire nation.

Across the country, reading achievement continues to decline. Nearly 40 percent of fourth graders read below the basic level and roughly a third of eighth graders are reading below basic, the highest share ever recorded.

Taken together, these numbers reveal a national literacy crisis that threatens economic opportunity, educational equity, and our nation's future competitiveness.

See how the MOU Marc H. Morial signed with the Isaiah Institute and Dillard University will positively impact voters.