We Must Heed the Lessons of History to End the Current Crisis

by Bernard E. Anderson, Ph.D.

Please join the National Urban League, the Jordan family and others whose lives have been touched as we gather virtually to honor his memory.  The memorial service will stream live below beginning at 11:00AM ET March 9th.  

Below is the schedule of events:

National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement regarding the passage of H.R. 1 in the House of Representatives: 

“We have watched in dismay as state lawmakers around the country responded to record turnout among voters of color with aggressive, racially-motivated restrictions on voting.  The House of Representatives admirably stood against this anti-democracy movement last night by passing a sweeping expansion of voting rights contained in the For the People Act. Now the Senate must do the same.

NEW YORK (March 4, 2021) -- National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement regarding the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in the House of Representatives:

NEW YORK (March 2, 2021) –  National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial today issued the following statement in response to the passing of his predecessor, Vernon Jordan:

“The nation has lost one of its greatest champions of racial and economic justice.  He was a transformational leader who brought the movement into a new era.  He was a personal mentor and dear friend. His passing leaves a tremendous void that can never be filled.

The Indianapolis Urban League (Indianapolis, IN) opened Thursday (February 25th) for it’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

One of the important parts of making the Indianapolis Urban League a vaccine location centered around accessibility. For many who live around the historic Black community along Indiana Avenue, transportation sometimes can be a problem. 

Getting to the Indianapolis Urban League is a two-block walk for Sunshine Rucker.

“Which makes it really nice. Well then you don’t have to worry about catching three or four buses or Uber or whatever,” said Rucker. 

She came to get her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday. But Rucker said having an agency willing to bring services to the community was something she had to take advantage of.

“I hope others will take advantage of this because this is something that we can all do and we can just help to make things better,” she said. 

A new program administered by the Urban League of Greater Madison or ULGM (Madison, WI) and funded by American Family Insurance will provide loans to new and emerging minority-owned businesses located in Madison’s new South Side hub, according to a press release issued Thursday.

The economic development project announced in July is being developed along Madison’s South Park Street corridor under the direction of ULGM President and CEO Dr. Ruben L. Anthony, Jr., and in partnership with a group of stakeholders including the Madison Black Chamber of Commerce, city and county government leaders, and other neighborhood stakeholders. The project arose out of more than two years of community engagement that involved hundreds of South Madison residents, non-profit agencies, elected officials, business leaders and many others.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday (February 26) announced the state will partner with local health departments to include vaccination sites for the 65-plus population across New York. These sites will be in partnership with local health departments and, where needed, will provide assistance to New Yorkers with transportation to and from the vaccination facilities and special support for paperwork regarding their vaccination.

As New York's vaccine allocations increase, these 65-plus priority facilities and appointments will be enabled from additional supply from the federal government. Counties across the state will be getting an increased supply of Moderna vaccine for this purpose starting next week.