ST. PETERSBURG – The Pinellas County Urban League (St. Petersburg, FL) has lost its leader.

Reverend Watson Haynes, II, President and CEO of the Urban League since 2012, passed away on the evening of Saturday, August 20th.

There was an outpouring of love and respect from many at news of his passing.

“Today our community mourns the loss of a great man,” U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, who went to high school with Haynes, wrote in a statement. “Reverend Watson Haynes was a humble public servant, someone who woke up each and every day with a commitment to fight for freedom, justice, and equality for his neighbors in Pinellas County. But above all, he was my dear friend.”

ST. LOUIS – Even a month after the disastrous flood that hit St. Louis, there is still a great need for assistance for flood victims.

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis held an event this past Saturday, August 20th, to aid those still suffering from the flood. Thousands of families showed up to the event.

Vice President of Public Safety for the Urban League, James Clark, said of the event, “We’re just happy to be here and happy to be a part of this solution.”

The drive was held at the Urban League offices, and hearing people’s stories about the flood, left Clark feeling ‘heartbreaking.’

CHATTANOOGA – Last week, the Chattanooga Urban League (Chattanooga, TN) was able to recognize and honor local entrepreneurs during their annual Entrepreneur Power Lunch.

Graduates of the Urban League’s NextLevel program, business owners Walter Lindsay and Londie Nichole received the top honors during the event.

Lindsey is the founder and the CEO of Unity One East security company, which won the Small Business of the Year award. It has been in business since 2015, and already employs 35 people.  “An award like this means a lot,” he said. “I’ve been in business for a while now. You just keep your head down and work and work and work. You don’t think people are paying attention. So to be recognized like that on stage is a great honor.”

BUFFALO – One of the many inequities that have been exposed by the pandemic is the digital divide in lower income neighborhoods. The Buffalo Urban League (Buffalo, NY) is teaming up with AT&T to help close that gap.

The Urban League has partnered with AT&T and Dreamerscorp of Buffalo to open a brand-new state-of-art facility named the AT&T Digital Urban Lab. This facility will provide access to the tools and resources that underserved communities currently don’t have, especially in East Buffalo, where the facility is located.

The lab will be one of several that AT&T to open with the Urban League, as part of the Lewis Latimer Plan for Digital Equity and Inclusion. The plan provides an in-depth plan to bridge the digital divide, exacerbated by the pandemic.

AURORA – Nicor Gas just committed $500k over the next five years to the Quad County Urban League (Aurora, IL).

The funds will go to supporting Nicor Gas’ Career Academy, a partnership between the Urban League and Nicor. Both organizations recently welcomed the seventh group of students participating in the program.

The program was launched in 2018, now having served more than 120 students. The curriculum has students study natural gas operations training, which includes understanding core concepts in math, technology, and various other areas. Students also shadow within Nicor’s call center to better understand customers.

WASHINGTON, DC (August 19, 2022) – Today, Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, applauded President Biden for answering the call of the National Urban League and its partners to organize a hate crimes summit to address the growing threat of violent extremism, domestic terrorism, and hate-fueled violence in our country.

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