NEW YORK, June 24, 2022 – National Urban League President Marc H. Morial today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade:

“For nearly 50 years, American women have had the right to choose what to do with their own bodies. Today’s devastating decision will reverberate for generations. For the first time in our history, the Supreme Court has snatched away a fundamental right from more than half our nation’s citizens.

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

“For Black people keeping Griner in their prayers during this tough time, let this serve as another reminder that we should be acknowledging and accepting members within our community in all of their multitudes. Russia isn’t erasing the fact that Griner is also queer; neither should we collectively. Too often in pop culture, we treat being Black and LGBTQIA as an either/or when it’s BOTH for members of our community. In times like these, we’re reminded that bigotry is nuanced and multidimensional. Russia has made it clear that it’s after Muslims, LGBTQIA people, Black and brown people, and more. Let this serve as an opportunity to protect those among us who live in multitudes as well.” -- Ernest Owens

NEW YORK, June 23, 2022— National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial today said the Supreme Court decision invalidating New York’s common-sense restrictions on concealed firearms is deeply flawed, rooted in political expediency rather than legal theory, and will contribute to countless additional deaths by gunfire

TAMPA BAY - In honor and celebration of Juneteenth, the Tampa Bay Lightning honored Urban League of Hillsborough County and Pinellas County Urban League as the Lightning Community Heroes this evening during the first period of tonight's game against the Colorado Avalanche. Urban League of Hillsborough County and Pinellas County Urban League shared a $100,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, presented by Jabil.  

AKRON – In a kickoff to the Juneteenth holiday, the Akron Urban League (Akron, OH) hosted a “Vax and Vote Blitz” on Friday, June 17th.

There was music, food, children’s games, vendors and locations where people can both register to vote and get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Retired registered nurse Cynthia Bell was on hand to doing blood pressure screenings and registering voters.

She said, “We have to take things to the community and not wait for them to come to us.”

NEW YORK - In an op-ed, President and CEO of the National Urban League Marc H. Morial writes that while we celebrate Juneteenth, we need more reform.

In the opinion piece published on The Hill website, Morial states that while progress has been made, there is much more to do to achieve true economic equity for Black Americans.

Morial comments on high costs and inflation as additional worries on an already full plate. Economic inequities have existed for generations have added to even more generational trauma, with getting ahead becoming seemingly impossible.

KNOXVILLE – The Knoxville Area Urban League (Knoxville, TN) just announced that their CEO, Phyllis Y. Nichols, will be retiring in September.

Serving in the role for over twenty years, Nichols is the longest-serving CEO since the start of the Knoxville non-profit in 1968. She joined the Urban League in 1994, after years of working in both private businesses and public education.

Her tenure as CEO of the Knoxville Area Urban League has included national recognition for her initiatives in economic and social equality. Her work and dedication to social justice, education, equity, and workforce development has impacted the community that she has so lovingly served.

National Urban League Celebrates Dana Douglas as the First Black Woman Nominated to United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Washington, D.C. (June 21, 2022) — Today, Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, released the following statement after President Biden announced Judge Dana Douglas as a nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: