On a Thursday evening in September on the South Side, about 20 lawyers and legal professionals sat in twos at several tables in a large open room at the Urban League of Greater Madison (Maidson, WI, waiting to help people for free.

Over the course of about three hours, they looked through the court and arrest records of 26 people who came in with hopes of getting old minor crimes — that they’ve already served time for — expunged from their records.

Expungement is a process through which people can get misdemeanors or low-level, non-violent felonies cleared from their records. In Wisconsin, the process is only allowed for crimes committed when someone was under 25 years old, and the judge has to grant expungement as a later option at the time of sentencing.

Urban League of Greater Chattanooga (Chattanooga, TN) marked the affiliate’s 37th annual Equal Opportunity Day Breakfast on Friday (Nov. 1). Community-wide civic leaders, government officials and community members gathered to celebrate inclusion, diversity and empowerment at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

“Advocating for social justice requires dedication and determination,” said Dorothy Grisham, board chair of Urban League of Greater Chattanooga.

“The Equal Opportunity Day Breakfast commends those who work tirelessly to promote inclusion and empower underserved individuals.”

Urban League recognized local, corporate and individual leaders who champion the organization’s mission. Ted and Kelly Alling, Chattanooga Preparatory School, Chancellor Steven Angle and students, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and James McKissic, Sankofa Fund were among the award recipients.

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

"The three of us -- Stokes, Chisholm and I -- came to Washington determined to seize the moment, to fight for justice, to raise issues too long ignored and too little debated. We were described by the media as militant, aggressive new leaders determined to make changes in the way black members of Congress had been viewed in the past." -- U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, Sr., Co-Founder of the Congressional Black Caucus

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority has received federal funding to counsel Connecticut homeowners facing possible foreclosure and educate first-time homebuyers.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Connecticut $140,723. The funding will supplement CHFA's annual investment of about $590,000 in homebuyer education and counseling.

David Hopkins is president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Hartford (Hartford, CT) , an agency receiving some of the funding. He says the money allows his organization to provide one-on-one counseling sessions and classes that help first-time homebuyers understand the process of buying a home and the responsibility of owning and maintaining it.

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The Knoxville Area Urban League (Knoxville, TN) honored “The Clinton 12” with its lifetime achievement award at the Equal Opportunity Awards Gala and recognized the volunteer, minority business and corporate leadership award winners.

Jazz and gospel performer Chanté Moore provided the entertainment at the Oct. 24 event held at the Knoxville Convention Center. The annual gala is the Knoxville Area Urban League’s most significant fundraising event of the year and a night of celebration.

“The Equal Opportunity Awards has recognized and saluted the power of individuals to impact their communities for more than 50 years,” said Phyllis Y. Nichols, president and CEO of the Knoxville Area Urban League. “It is always incredible to see the people come together to enjoy music and camaraderie and celebrate our community leaders who make a difference in civil rights, education, home ownership, job creation and entrepreneurship in our city.”

The Urban League of Rochester (Rochester, NY) hosted its annual College Readiness Program for local parents and their students.

The program offered free workshops at Monroe Community College (MCC)'s Brighton campus.

Families learned about many things including SAT scores needed to get into college and even tips on how to apply for federal financial aid.

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Technology has simplified our lives but did you know it could also disrupt millions of jobs for African Americans? We explain.

The Milwaukee Urban League (Milwaukee, WI) hosted a job recruitment event Friday, Oct. 25, allowing people to talk to several different employers at one location.

The nine employers who took part included Frito Lay, Walmart, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, and Hyatt Regency Milwaukee.

Jobs ranged from manufacturing, sales associates, hospitality and customer service. 

"Every employer that's here today is an employer we have a direct relationship with, so even if people missed this event, we encourage them to come on down, because we still have those contacts with those employers to refer people, and I'm sure they're not going to fill all their openings today," said Milwaukee Urban League's workforce coach, Elamin Abdullah. 

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