The Urban League of Greater Madison (Madison, WI) has been awarded a grant of $481,540 to support its Urban Educator Cohort Pathway program.

ULGM’s grant was part of the $1 million in grants announced on Monday by Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce (DWD), through the Teacher Training and Recruitment Grant Program, which will support efforts to train and recruit teachers where shortages are most prevalent in Wisconsin.

ULGM will work with the Madison Metropolitan School District, the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison, and Edgewood College to recruit, train, mentor, and place 42 licensed teachers in the high-need areas of special education and English as a second language bilingual education. Recruits will earn credits toward their licenses at the UW-Madison School of Education or Edgewood College.

A new initiative is taking aim at improving health outcomes in underserved communities, starting with northeast Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Complete Health and the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City, OK) have joined forces to launch a Health Empowerment Zone, which is an effort to address serious health disparities such as maternal health, youth well-being, behavioral care access, and social drivers of health like transportation and food insecurity.

With $300,000 committed over three years, the partnership aims to bring direct services, education, and community collaboration to neighborhoods with some of the lowest life expectancy rates in the state.

Michael P. McMillan, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis (St. Louis, MO) President and CEO, says his organization stands ready to support the community following the May 16, 2025, storm that left unprecedented destruction behind.

“St. Louis is strong, and together, we will rise,” said McMillan in a release.

 “In the wake of the devastating tornados, [the Urban League will] lead the charge in helping our community recover and rebuild.”

An Urban League Humanitarian Fund, specifically to support the 2025 tornado recovery effort, has been established to help respond quickly and directly to the most urgent needs in our community, including, according to McMillan.

Emergency Food and Clean Water
-Providing meals, groceries, and bottled water to families facing food insecurity and loss of power.

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE’S MAIN STREET TAX INITIATIVE: A BOLD, EQUITABLE PLAN TO LIFT COMMUNITIES OUT OF POVERTY AND STIMULATE ECONOMIC GROWTH

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 15, 2025) — As the policies of the Trump administration and the chaos of their reckless application threaten to crater the economy and deepen inequality, the National Urban League unveiled a blueprint for an innovative approach to U.S. tax policy that contribute to income and wealth inequality.

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE ISSUES NEW REPORT: GEORGE FLOYD FIVE YEARS LATER—WAS IT A MOMENT OR A MOVEMENT?

New Report Tracks Five Years of Reckoning, Resistance, and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 15, 2025) — The National Urban League today unveiled its latest report, George Floyd Five Years Later: Was It a Moment or a Movement? –  offering a sobering reflection on America’s racial justice journey since May 25, 2020. 

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

“All Americans are entitled to live with the confidence that the law enforcement officers and agencies in their communities will live up to our Nation’s founding ideals and will protect the rights of all persons.  Particularly in African-American communities, we must redouble our efforts as a Nation to swiftly address instances of misconduct.” -- Presidential Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities, June 16, 2020

None of us can forget the moment we saw the murder of George Floyd unfolding before our very eyes.

The sight of a white officer’s knee squeezing the life from a helpless Black man in handcuff as he begged for mercy shocked the nation – a nation that had already seen police kill at least 17 other unarmed Black people just five months into the year.

Charter Communications, Inc., the company behind Spectrum, has awarded $75,000 in Spectrum Digital Education grants to five Cleveland-area nonprofit organizations. The funding is part of the company’s ongoing effort to expand digital literacy and improve educational access in underserved communities.

Since the program’s launch in 2017, Spectrum Digital Education has committed more than $11 million to nonprofits across its 41-state service area. The initiative promotes digital inclusion through training, equipment and educational support.

“Connectivity is the foundation for meaningful learning, professional growth and human connection,” said John Higgins, Regional Vice President for Spectrum. “Spectrum Digital Education supports programs that empower community members to enhance their lives with connectivity.”

This year, 66 organizations nationwide received a 2024 Spectrum Digital Education grant, including five in Northeast Ohio:

Louisville Urban League Young Professionals (Louisville, KY) hosted a workshop to introduce students to Black tech professionals.

Students, young adults and parents gathered on Saturday, May 10 for the Future Forward: Tech Career Pop-Up. It’s also been dubbed a ‘miracle territory.’

“That was the word of today, which is where you take the opportunity to put yourself in a room that’s going to introduce you to people that could transform the trajectory of your life,” said Gregory Mitchell, the vice president of Louisville Urban League Young Professionals.

Two tech professionals were invited to the event to share their journeys, discuss their ventures and give advice. One of them was Louisville native Ricky Mason, the CEO of BrainSTEM and Kentucky Agritech.

“Today’s event was awesome,” Mason said. “It’s amazing whenever I get the chance to talk to young people about their career, their purpose and being intentional about their lives.”