Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

“Our democracy was inches from ruin. Our system of government was stretched to the breaking point. Members and staff were terrorized. Police officers fought hand to hand for hours. People lost their lives … Either you’re on the side of helping us figure out why, or you’re trying to stop us from getting those answers. You can parade out whatever argument you want, but really, that’s all there is to it. In real life, there aren’t a lot of bright-line moments. This is one of them.” – U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol

A year ago today, Americans watched in horror and revulsion as a savage mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, intent upon overturning a fair and free election through violence or even murder, if necessary.

Washington, D.C. (December 29, 2021) – Today, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement in response to the passing of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: 

The New York Urban League (NYUL) announced a $250,000 grant from Valor Equity Partners for its Small Business Solutions Center to serve the critical needs of Black-owned small businesses who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.  Valor Equity partners joins Paypal in supporting this critical work.  The NYUL Small Solutions Center will serve those businesses geographically located in the five boroughs that meet the Small Business Administration definition.  NYUL will also partner with Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration and Harlem Community Development Corporation on this effort to create a collective of service providers who have a legacy of success in the following industries: Marketing, Finance, Technology, Human Resources, and Business Management.

The Marketing students at Greenville Technical College are getting some real-world experience while they're still in school by helping local nonprofits.

Instructor Lisa Papenfus said a different nonprofit is chosen each semester. Most recently, the students worked with the Urban League of the Upstate (Greenville, SC).

The students' assignment is to put together a marketing plan to address any challenges the nonprofit may have.

"It gives them something that as they go on a job interview, it gives them the opportunity to say, 'This is the kind of work I can do for you. I have done this. This wasn't a test, this wasn't a simulation. This is real legitimate work that I've done,'" Papenfus said.

Kim Arnold, Chief Operating Officer of the Urban League of the Upstate said they've already made updates to their website based on the students' recommendations, and they are grateful for the assistance.

Written By: Stephanie Hightower

President & CEO, Columbus Urban League

From overwhelming appreciation through the Great Resignation, 2021 stands out as a year of contrasts, unfinished business, and, thankfully, tempered hopefulness.

Juxtapose this reality.

Thousands of our neighbors struggled to keep their homes. During fiscal year 2021, Columbus Urban League (Columbus, OH) alone fielded approximately 15,000 thousand calls from people on the edge of eviction or foreclosure.

It’s not over.

We may long for closure, but we can’t yet consign our masks to the sock drawer or circumscribe racism to a finished Wikipedia entry on U.S. history. Omicron is ripping through our ICUs and ERs, filling our hospital beds and exacerbating a health care worker shortage and burnout crisis.

Atlanta is partnering with the Urban League of Greater Atlanta (Atlanta, GA) nonprofit to launch the city’s first citywide guaranteed-income pilot program for low-income residents.

According to the mayor’s office, the Income Mobility Program for Atlanta Community Transformation, or I.M.P.A.C.T., will serve 300 residents who are at least 18 years old and live below 200% of the federal poverty line, about $53,000 for a family of four.

Participants in the program will receive $500 per month during the 12-month pilot period.

The program is designed to address Atlanta’s struggle with income inequality. It was inspired by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who said more than 50 years ago that “the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.”

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

"You were a great leader in the Senate, and early on you were more generous to me than I had any right to expect. I wouldn't have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support, and I wouldn't have gotten most of what I got done without your skill and determination. Most of all, you've been a good friend. As different as we are, I think we both saw something of ourselves in each other – a couple of outsiders who had defied the odds and knew how to take a punch and cared about the little guy. And you know what, we made for a pretty good team." President Obama’s final letter to former Nevada Senator Harry Reid

It’s known as “Obamacare,” but without Senator Harry Reid, who passed this week at the age of 82, there might never have been a President Obama, much less his signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act.

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

“You got to be way out of it if you go into a meeting repeatedly with people of color, and you keep bringing three white men from Yale. It's just, no.” – U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver

About a quarter of the current members of Congress identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander or Native American. While low compared to the overall population – about 40% of Americans are people of color – it is the most ethnically and racially diverse Congress in history and represents an ongoing positive trend. It’s the sixth consecutive Congress to break the diversity record.

Washington, D.C. (December 22, 2021) – Today, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s announcement to extend the pause on federal student loan repayment to May 1st, 2022:
 
“Today, President Biden gave the American people a much-needed holiday gift by taking action to extend the pause on federal student loan debt repayment. As the rise in Omicron variant cases have reminded us, our nation is still in the midst of a global pandemic that has impacted both our health and our economy. Many student loan borrowers, especially those in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, would have found it difficult to resume repayment in January and were at risk of falling behind in their payments.