Originally Published: August 8, 2022 National Urban League and the PepsiCo Foundation are pleased to announce the first 100 grantees of the Black Restaurant Accelerator Program, a joint $10 million initiative that will provide 500 Black restaurant owners in 12 cities over the next five years with capital, technical assistance, and mentorship services. The program provides critical support to Black restaurateurs who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

National Urban League and the PepsiCo Foundation recognize the vital contributions of Black-owned restaurants to the fabric of American culture, as well as the need to preserve these institutions. The program provides a tangible pathway towards substantive pandemic recovery and lasting economic equity. A list of the first 100 grantees can be found here:

Exact Sciences announced the company is committing $500,000 to support construction of the Urban League of Greater Madison’s (Madison, WI) Black Business Hub (The Hub) on the city’s south side. Exact Sciences also plans to lease space in the building to connect with job seekers and community organizations, adding the company’s name to a growing roster of public and private sector tenants at The Hub.

“Few organizations are as consistent and persistent as the Urban League when it comes to improving lives and creating economic opportunity,” said Kevin Conroy, chairman and CEO of Exact Sciences. “The Hub will offer formal and informal programming, create new supply chain opportunities for area businesses, and give entrepreneurs a place to call home. We cannot wait to see it open.”

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

“If Congress fails to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, American democracy will be at critical risk … Defenders of democracy in America still have a slim window of opportunity to act. But time is ticking away, and midnight is approaching. To lose our democracy but preserve the filibuster in its current form—in which a minority can block popular legislation without even having to hold the floor—would be a short-sighted blunder that future historians will forever puzzle over.” — “Statement in Support of the Freedom to Vote Act,” an open letter signed by more than 150 scholars of US democracy 

This week, the Biden administration convened 111 world leaders in a virtual meeting dubbed the Summit for Democracy.

National Urban League President Congratulates New Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission  

Birmingham Urban League (Birmingham, AL), a community based organization, is stepping up to fill a void once handled by the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (JCCEO).

JCCEO had to relinquish all grants and stop all programs due to financial struggles. Now the Birmingham Urban League is seeing more clients come in for utility assistance.

Since JCCEO is no longer able to offer it’s programs, some residents say they were worried they wouldn’t have anywhere to turn to.

“I put it like this, there’s a lot of folks drowning, a lot of people need help, not only just me, a lot of people need something, they ain’t got nowhere to go," said Birmingham resident Glenn Hampton.

Birmingham Urban League is seeing a 30% increase in clients coming through their door just this week.

“We are having conversations about how we can best stand up and fill in the hole," said Birmingham Urban League President/CEO William Barnes.

At 91 years old, Civil Rights leader Xernona Clayton said she isn't resting.

"Our fight always is to encourage everybody to join the fight. That's how you win," Clayton said.

She said the battle isn't over yet. Clayton was an aid to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and had her start in civil rights with the Urban League in Chicago.

"What's really disconcerting to those of us who were on the fight every day is that the victories we thought we had won, we're looking at it now as maybe it wasn't a real victory because it didn't last long," Clayton said.

Louisville Urban League (Louisville, KY) hosted the Annual IMPACT Report Luncheon at Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center on West Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

Clayton was a speaker at the event. Urban League President and CEO Sadiqa Reynolds reflected on the past and made plans for the future.

Madison's gener8tor has joined a seemingly growing roster of companies looking to support or take up space inside what could soon be a business hub for Black entrepreneurs on the city’s South Side.

A Downtown-based startup founded in 2012, gener8tor now has more than 40 accelerator programs available to early-stage companies across the United States and in the small European country Luxembourg. The programs also support musicians, artists, investors and universities.

The Black Business Hub, a $25.3 million construction project recently put forth by the Urban League of Greater Madison (Madison, WI), would be the city’s first Black-led enterprise center — an 81,000-square-foot, four-story building at the corner of Park Street and Hughes Place.

Join us for multiple FREE digital sessions this month curated for business owners hosted by our affiliates.

Montgomery Bus Boycott. This week marks 66 years since the Mass Meeting that ignited the nation to demand equal rights. Read more. | COVID-19 facts. There's a new variant in town, but there is no need to panic. Here’s what you need to know to stay safe. | Ready to elevate your business? Join us for multiple FREE digital sessions this month curated for business owners hosted by our affiliates. | It’s time for a change. Here’s how President Biden plans to grow our economy from the bottom up through the Build Back Better Framework. | New jobs report. Dr. Bernard Anderson, our Chief Economics Adviser, shares an in-depth look at the state of the economy. Here’s what the numbers tell us.

Dr. Bernard E. Anderson
Whitney M Young, Jr. Professor Emeritus, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Senior Economic Advisor, National Urban League
 
In November, private payroll employment increased 250,000, while government employment declined by 25,000. The unemployment rate declined 0.4 points to 4.2%. In contrast to the payroll report, the household survey showed an increase in employment 1.14 million, the sharpest gap ever between the two surveys.
 
The numbers suggest  that employment growth is adjusting to the labor market distortions generated by  Covid 19 and is reverting to the mean.   The average monthly growth over the last three months was 275,000, close to the average monthly job growth reported in the two years before the pandemic of 250,000 to 300,000 jobs.