What would it mean to have a more engaged and educated electorate in Northeast Indiana? Several groups and stakeholders are asking this question and putting in the work to get people excited and energized to show up on Election Day. 

A burst of color has been added to Broad Street in Elyria.

Local students in the Lorain County Urban League’s (Elyria, OH) Project Ready program put the finishing touches on a mural that now covers the side of a wall on 354 Broad St. on Monday afternoon.

The students were a small contingent of 53 total students in the program, an after-school organization that prepares students for life after high school, who worked together alongside the Elyria Community Partnership over the summer to design the mural.

The mural, titled “A Place to be Yourself,” includes sights from Elyria like the West Falls of the Black River, people playing basketball and riding bikes, and flowers.

The Los Angeles Urban League (Los Angeles, CA) will partner with NBC4/KNBC and Telemundo 52/KVEA to present the second annual State of Black Los Angeles on Thursday, Oct. 10, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Town and Gown Banquet Hall on the campus of the University of Southern California (USC).  The program will also be livestreamed on KNBC and Telemundo.

The panel series will cover three main areas: housing and homelessness, health access and equity, and economic empowerment – building wealth. A wide range of experts will provide factual information and critical insight on each topic.

It's another day for Brandon Rash and his team with the Metropolitan Urban League of St. Louis (St. Louis, MO) to pound the pavement, knock on homeowners' doors and ask if they may put a sign in their front yards.

"We spend at least three hours a day in the community. We're trying to get one sign in everybody's yard on every street, highways. We need it everywhere, " said Rash, the organization's Lead Urban Engagement Specialist.

Not just any sign, but one with an important message: "Slow Down St. Louis — our main goal is just trying to get everybody aware that we do have a speeding problem in St. Louis," added Rash.

In March, the Urban League kicked off its Slow Down Public Awareness Campaign.

Five days a week, its Urban Engagement Specialists walk through neighborhoods in St. Louis city and County and post these yard signs, in hopes of putting the brakes on what they call "vehicular violence."

Civil rights and housing advocates are angry with the White House over delays in finalizing a long-promised fair housing rule — but are divided over whether to publicly pressure the administration as the election nears.

How Black men can win. From jobs and entrepreneurship to housing and healthcare, see where both presidential candidates stand on the issues. | Dear Black men. Read more about how the Black male vote can change the trajectory of the upcoming election. | Now's the time to prep! Election Day is almost here, and it’s time to do your research on the candidates and get your voting plan together. Learn more. | The future is bright. Our President & CEO Marc H. Morial spent time with young men at Morehouse College and the B.E.S.T. Academy in Atlanta, witnessing their brilliance and imparting wisdom. See how it went. | What’s your reason for voting?  Watch as Black voters share some of the many reasons to #ReclaimYourVote and make a difference in this election. | Your vote matters. Listen as Khalil Thompson, Executive Director of Win With Black Men, discusses key issues Black men are prioritizing in this election.

Bernard E. Anderson, PhD

Whitney M. Young Professor Emeritus,
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Chief Economic Advisor,
National Urban League

U.S. employment increased by 254,000 in September, reflecting an economy growing at a stable, balanced rate.

While the overall unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%, the Black unemployment rate fell to 5.1%, bringing the Black/white ratio to 1.54, down from 1.60 in August and significantly down from the previously persistent 2:1 ratio. 

The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.7%.  Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care, government, social assistance, and construction.  There was little change in employment in other major industries. Average hourly earnings grew 0.4% month over month and 4.1%  year over year.