NEW YORK (August 5, 2020) – The National Urban League today announced a newly formed Indianapolis African American Quality of Life Renewal Initiative. This extraordinary place-based effort will provide a unique funding opportunity to address challenges facing Indianapolis’ African American community. This initiative is made possible by a $100 million grant from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. to the National Urban League.

School supplies can be an extra financial burden for some families, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On Saturday the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis (St. Louis, MO) and Saint Louis Public School District joined forces to provide basic necessities to students ahead of the fall semester.

This was week 17 of the Urban League’s weekly large scale food, toiletries and PPE material distribution.

The drive-through style event was held at the Urban League’s North St. Louis Community Empowerment Center in North St. Louis. It provided more than 4,000 school supply sets for families. The organization gave out more than a total of $250,000 in items.

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The Louisville Urban League (Louisville, KY) sponsored a free COVID-19 testing event Saturday in downtown Louisville, designed to give those protesting for social justice an easy and accessible way to screen for the virus.

One protester, who goes by J Bird, said with the virus still out there, testing is an important way to protect everyone attending the protests.

"I don’t want this virus to spread. I’m wearing a mask, I’m wearing a mask every time I’m out here," J Bird said. "So it’s just important for everyone to get tested."

Saturday's testing was performed by Strickland, Cox and Associated less than a block away from Jefferson Square, which has been the center of protest activity in downtown Louisville. Urban League president and CEO Sadiqa Reynolds said the organization offered the testing because protesters reached out for an option not connected to the government.

The Knoxville Area Urban League’s (Knoxville, TN) 18th annual Shoes for School became a drive-through and pickup event Saturday, Aug. 1, after the traditional festival in Caswell Park was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Urban League arranged for delivery or pickup of more than 1,500 pairs of new tennis shoes and 3,000 backpacks full of school supplies, including masks, in coordination with nonprofit partner agencies.

“A pandemic can’t stop Knoxville from giving schoolchildren the help they need,” said Phyllis Y. Nichols, president/CEO of KAUL. “We are especially grateful to our sponsors for stepping up at a tremendous time of need and ensuring that this event could be held.”

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Urban League Empowerment Center. We're proud to share that NYC will remain our home, with historic plans for our future move to Harlem! Read on. | On the eviction crisis. With eviction moratoriums expiring, millions of Americans face an uncertain future. Here’s what can be done to prevent this. | Navigating Virtual Bias. Join us this Wednesday, August 5th to learn how to manage the biases that come with a virtual workforce. | 2020 State of Black America. Our highly-anticipated annual report is almost here! Tune in for the release of the latest findings on August 13 at 2PM Eastern. | Weekly commentary. Tune in Mondays at 8:30AM ET as Marc Morial joins the Rickey Smiley Morning Show to share updates related to our communities. | Make Black Count. Completing the Census is quick and simple. Plus, it can help your community secure billions in funding. Fill it out this weekend!

The leaders of the nation’s leading civil rights and racial justice organizations today issued a statement calling on the members of the U.S. Senate to condemn Sen. Tom Cotton’s remarks on slavery and issue a formal censure. These leaders and their organizations are: 

Ford Motor Co. and its philanthropic arm, Ford Motor Company Fund, are joining with the National Urban League to provide $600,000 in grants to Black business owners negatively afflicted by COVID-19. The Emergency Capital Access Program (ECAP) will provide small grants, combined with technical assistance and advisory services, to Black business owners through National Urban League affiliates in Los Angeles, Detroit, New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago and New York.

Each city will receive $100,000, enabling National Urban League affiliates to provide crucial economic support to businesses providing a stabilizing influence for communities hard hit by the pandemic.

Arva Rice, President and CEO of the New York Urban League (New York, NY) said, “With this extraordinarily generous grant, we will be able to serve even more people as the pandemic continues to disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities and business owners.