Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

"The lie of massive, rampant voter fraud is serving the same function today as it did during the rise of Jim Crow. It stokes fear in a segment of the population that democracy is in peril, and thus provides cover for laws that target Black voters with race-neutral language in the 21st century." -- Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Meet Jimmy Crow.

You may remember Jimmy’s grandfather, Jim Crow. Jim sometimes wore a hood and a robe, and sometimes a sheriff’s badge. He administered incomprehensible “literacy tests” to Black citizens trying to register to vote. He clubbed John Lewis nearly to death on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The n-word flowed freely from Jim’s lips.

NEW YORK (May 12, 2021) -- The National Urban League today announced it is working to promote consumer awareness about the Emergency Broadband Benefit

The Markle Foundation's Rework America Alliance, a unique coalition of civil rights groups, nonprofits, private sector employers, labor unions and educators, today announced the first regions in which it will partner with local community-based organizations to deploy resources to help job seekers connect to good jobs.

The Alliance is opening opportunities for millions of unemployed and low wage workers to move into good jobs, particularly for people of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the current economic crisis, and those who have built capabilities through experience but do not have a bachelor's degree.

The initial regions and organizations that will lead efforts locally are:

More than a decade after he first interned with Mercy Health, Jordan Brown is on track to become a doctor.

Brown, a 2010 graduate of Admiral King High School in Lorain, is the first intern from an Urban League-Mercy Health partnership to receive a medical doctorate degree. He graduated this weekend from Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is set to start his residency at a hospital in East Liverpool.

None of it would be possible without the Rising Star intern program, he said.

The program, an initiative between the Lorain County Urban League (Elyria, OH) and Mercy Health Lorain invites area high school students to work at the hospital, shadowing doctors and nurses, as well as administrative, food services, finance and marketing staff, said Catherine Woskobnick, director of community health at Mercy Health Lorain.

The Broome County Urban League (Binghamton, NY) has partnered with the NYS Department of Labor to provide a new workforce initiative. This platform will provide job training and apprenticeship opportunities that specifically identify job categories linked to the Southern Tier’s
strategies. 

They include healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, customer service, retail, technology, plumbing, heating, and carpentry. Our trainings allow individuals to achieve the necessary skills to gain
and retain employment.

This program is also working with local attorneys to assist individuals that have past infractions to be sealed or expunged so they can become gainfully employed, support themselves and their families and contribute our community.

To read the full article, click here.

WANE 15 and the Fort Wayne Urban League (Ft. Wayne, IN) are proud to announce community advocate and multi-award winning news anchor Terra Brantley has been selected as the new President and CEO of the Fort Wayne Urban League.

The Indiana Associated Press Hall of Fame honoree will leave the broadcast industry with 35 years under her belt, 28 of those serving as an anchor at WANE 15, the top-rated news station in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. Beloved by viewers, she is currently the main weekday anchor for the market-leading newscasts at 5, 6 and 11PM. Terra is also one of the creative forces behind the weekly “Positively Fort Wayne” segment, in which she tells stories that inform and inspire viewers, much like she does with everyone she meets. Brantley previously hosted WANE 15’s morning and noon newscasts for more than 20 years.

By Kayla Drake, St. Louis Public Radio

Homeless shelters and service providers in the St. Louis region are leaning on the trust they've fostered for years in the homeless community to get COVID-19 vaccines in arms. So far, it's working.

Organizations including St. Patrick Center, Peter and Paul Community Services, St. Vincent de Paul and City Hope have helped vaccinate nearly 400 people since March. Leaders and caseworkers at the nonprofits say personal relationships have been key to that success.

“In working with the unhoused community, trust is a major issue,” City Hope CEO Michael Robinson said. “Our guests have grown to love and trust us because of the way that we treat them and assist them. That helps to bring some of the level of anxiety and scrutiny down because most of them don't believe that we would do anything that would harm them.”

The National Urban League said it has closed on a $3 million commitment from Charter Communications, funds that will go toward the organization's small business lending arm, the Urban Empowerment Fund.