LOUISVILLE, KY (September 23, 2020) — Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, and Sadiqa N. Reynolds, Esq., President & CEO of the Louisville Urban League, issued the following joint statement in response to a grand jury’s failure to seek justice for the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.

Perversion of justice is too feeble a term to describe the grand jury’s decision not to file a single criminal charge related to Breonna’s death. It is an affront to Breonna’s memory, and to the millions of Americans who have stood in solidarity with Breonna’s family and marched in the streets in her name.

The barrage of gunfire that endangered Breonna’s neighbors is the very same gunfire that took Breonna’s life. It is incomprehensible to suggest that the risk of injuring neighbors is a crime but the actual killing of an innocent young woman is not.

By Mike Sievert

As T-Mobile and Sprint were planning our long-anticipated merger, we realized that we had a significant opportunity in front of us. We could use our new scale and resources as a larger combined company, to not only get bigger, but also to become BETTER in so many ways. This was our opportunity to seize.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The passing of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg is a monumental loss for our nation. We reflect on her legacy. | Ready to vote? We marked the first-ever National Black Voter Day on Sept. 18! Here are 3 easy steps you can take to vote TODAY. | On Breonna Taylor. The Louisville Metro Government and Breonna Taylor's family reached an unprecedented settlement this week. Here's our response. | Virtual summit. Are you an innovator or looking to start a new career in the tech industry? Join us on Sept. 24, 3-5PM ET for Tech and the New Normal! | Save the date. We're less than a month away from the virtual Equal Opportunity Dinner, hosted by Hill Harper! Check out the lineup. | Time is running out. Remember, the Census is a count of ALL people who live in the U.S., including Black immigrant communities. Complete the form online! | House Subcommittee Hearing. Watch our president and CEO Marc Morial's testimony on why Congress must pass the HEROES Act as soon as possible.

Are you an innovator or looking to start a new career in the tech industry?  Join us for the virtual summit on Sept. 24, 3-5PM ET 

The Louisville Urban League (Louisville, KY) and several nonprofit organizations announced efforts to increase Black voter turnout Friday as part of the first National Black Voter Day.

The National Urban League and BET announced the day as one piece of their "Reclaim Your Vote" campaign.

On Friday (Sept. 18), local leaders announced the creation of the Alberta Odell Jones Black Independent Black Voters Association, in honor of the local attorney and civil rights activist. The organization will host phone banks to contact 42,000 unregistered Black voters across Kentucky and the more than 100,000 ex-felons who regained their right to vote last year.

Louisville Urban League President and CEO Sadiqa Reynolds said her organization will release a series of PSAs to help voters understand their options and how to fill out an absentee ballot. The league is also making a push to get people to vote when early voting begins on Oct. 13.

BET and the National Urban League on Friday rolled out National Black Voter Day, an initiative focused on getting Black Americans registered to vote ahead of November.

The undertaking has more than 40 partners, including the NAACP, former first lady Michelle Obama's When We All Vote organization and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams's Fair Fight Action.

National Black Voter Day is part of BET's larger nonpartisan #ReclaimYourVote campaign, which was launched earlier this year.

Food Lion Donates $500,000 to Support Racial Equality and Justice

Funding Earmarked to Support Programming of Long-Standing Community Partners

Food Lion announced today that it has selected several longstanding community partners to receive additional funding to support their work to address racial equality and justice.

“At Food Lion, our value of care is at the center of everything we do, from how we run our business to how we engage with associates and customers to how we nourish our communities,” said Meg Ham, president of Food Lion. “Because we believe there is no place for systemic racism in our world, we are committed to doing our part to support racial equality inside our organization and inside our communities. We are holding ourselves accountable for making lasting change, and together with our community partners, we are hopeful that we can create a better future for all,” Ham added.

It’s a good bet the knife-carrying suspect and his buddy who challenged racial justice protesters outside a Hertel Avenue bar never attended the Buffalo Urban League’s (Buffalo, NY) annual gala.

Neither, I suspect, did the Tonawanda store manager who called police on a Black man trying to cash his winning lottery ticket, or the cops who arrested and strip-searched the man for no good reason.

If they had, they would have been educated by the stories of African Americans who’ve defied all of the stereotypes and overcome all of the obstacles this society stacks against them.

On the other hand, if they were enlightened enough to attend, they probably wouldn’t have held such racist views in the first place.

National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issues the following statement regarding the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: