As Alabama prepares for special elections later this summer and a general election this fall, civil rights leaders are urging voters not to let confusion over redistricting and election changes keep them from participating in the democratic process.

The Urban League of Alabama (Birmingham, AL) and the Metro Birmingham NAACP hosted a Juneteenth town hall Thursday evening titled “Collective Action: Our Voice, Our Vote, Our Future.” The event brought together community leaders, elected officials, faith leaders and residents for a nonpartisan discussion about voter mobilization, civic engagement and the issues shaping communities across the state.

Organizers said the timing of the event was intentional.

The same message just a week apart from the Tallahassee Urban League (Tallahassee, FL).

“To our young people, don’t give in to peer pressure. Just because your friends are going don’t mean that you need to go,” said Urban League President and CEO, Curtis Taylor.

Taylor stood in front of dozens of elected officials and law enforcement, once again asking for the community to work towards a reduction of gun violence.

Taylor stood in front of the same lectern a week earlier, asking parents to pay particular attention to where their kids were spending the wee hours of the night.

Several shootings have taken place at so-called ‘pop-up parties’ in Tallahassee the past few weeks.

Thursday (June 18th), the Urban League noted the last week had been quiet and thanked the Tallahassee Police Department, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and others for their work to make that happen.

The three-day Juneteenth “Stronger Together” celebration, put on by The Akron Urban League (Akron, OH) Akron NAACP and Freedom BLOC, culminated Saturday afternoon (June 20th) in the parking lot of the Akron Urban League in Sherbondy Hill with a stage with live entertainment, vendors, food trucks and family activities.

Earlier in the week, the celebration included a food distribution on Wednesday, a conversation about solidarity economies on Friday and the 50th annual West Akron Parade on Saturday morning.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday celebrated on June 19. It marks June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned of their emancipation, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation giving enslaved people their freedom.

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Some community members and faith leaders believe creating a so-called Department of Gun Violence Prevention could help keep people safe in Chicago.

It would support community-based solutions and ensure the department exists regardless of who is in City Hall.

Father Michael Pfleger, The Chicago Urban League (Chicago, IL) CEO Karen Freeman-Wilson and the city's deputy mayor of public safety, Emmanuel Andre, are part of the coalition spearheaded by Live Free Illinois.

"Ten years from now, whoever the mayor is, or 20 years from now, we want that mayor to also be compelled to support and staff this," Freeman-Wilson said.

This comes after another violent weekend in Chicago; on Friday night, at least 14 people were hurt in a mass shooting in the Princeton Park neighborhood.

Across the city, at least six people were killed in weekend shootings.

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