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:

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

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League
 

“Too many people struggled, suffered and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote. And we have come too far together to ever turn back. So we must not be silent. We must stand up, speak up and speak out. We must march to the polls like never before. We must come together and exercise our sacred right.” – Congressman John Lewis

In April of 2019, the Associated Press released an analysis of census data and exit polling that reached a remarkable conclusion: the Black voter turnout rate in the 2012 presidential election exceeded the white rate for the first time in history.  A census report in May confirmed the AP’s findings.

Some researchers disputed the findings, contending that the milestone actually had occurred in 2008.

LOUISVILLE, KY (September 16, 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 the unprecedented settlement agreement between Louisville Metro Government and the family of Breonna Taylor.

The FedEx Racing team will use its sponsorship to provide a platform for creating more diverse and equitable communities. The No. 11 FedEx Cares Toyota, driven by Denny Hamlin, will highlight the National Urban League and its Project Ready program for the Sept. 12 NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.  Project Ready prepares Black Americans and other historically underserved youth for college and careers, offering support, services, and opportunities not always found in the classroom. The newly unveiled paint scheme for Hamlin’s No. 11 represents the goals of the program with images of graduation caps being tossed in the air.

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. (St. Louis, MO) has been given a $1 million grant to expand their crime de-escalation program.

“For over a year, my administration has been working with community groups, civic leaders, clergies, law enforcement, and mayors across the state to find solutions to violent crime,” Governor Mike Parson said. “We know we have a serious issue with violent crime in Missouri, and the Serving Our Streets Initiatives is a very valuable tool in addressing these issues at the local level. We are excited to see the initiative expand, which is another great step in our overall efforts to combat violent crime and make our communities safer.”

The Serving Our Streets Initiative focuses on community outreach and direct engagement with citizens in high crime and poverty areas. The program focuses on gun violence de-escalation and providing resources to crime victims.

The Kentucky Department of Income Support was awarded $942,294 for fiscal year 2021.

Eight states, including Kentucky, were selected by the Office of Child Support Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families to develop nine programs to educate teens and young adults who do not yet have children about the financial, legal and emotional responsibilities of parenthood.

The agencies will collaborate with youth job development programs, foster care transition services, juvenile justice agencies, teen pregnancy prevention programs, community colleges and public schools to integrate child support and responsible parenting education into youth-centered systems.