Although there's beauty in our city's Black history, it is also mired by harmful redlining policies and urban renewal projects that forced Black residents out of north and northeast Portland.

Today, those neighborhoods are the site of a growing movement to help every Black community member thrive in this area again.

“I think that this building, one day, by the time my grandchildren get grown, this will be historical,” said Leor Beverly.

Named after the prominent Oregon suffragist, the Hattie Redmond Apartments sit along North Interstate Avenue in the historically Black Kenton Neighborhood.

From 1990 to 2010, African Americans were pushed out by the thousands as the area was redeveloped and prices rose.

The building is part of a broader effort to help Black Portlanders find a place in this neighborhood again, by starting with the most vulnerable members of the community.

Nearly 2,000 high-achieving high school seniors from across the Midlands were celebrated Sunday afternoon as the Columbia Urban League (Columbia, SC) marked a major milestone, both for students and for Black history.

More than 1,800 students were recognized during the organization’s 40th Annual “Young and Gifted” Black History Month Program, held at Brookland Baptist Church. Family members, friends, educators and community leaders filled the sanctuary, cheering as honorees were acknowledged for their excellence.

Students were recognized for achievements in academics, athletics, the arts, leadership and a range of extracurricular activities. Organizers say the program remains the largest recognition of African-American student achievement in South Carolina.

This year’s event also carried added significance, commemorating 100 years of Black history while spotlighting the next generation of leaders.

“At a time when it’s easy to take a step back, the Urban League is stepping up.”

Those were the words of Springfield Urban League (Springfield, IL) President and CEO Dr. Marcus Johnson during a Dec. 2 Springfield City Council meeting. Johnson was trying to convince the alderpersons to sell eight city-owned parcels of land on Springfield’s east side for $4,000 to the Urban League for future revitalization.

The City Council tabled the matter that night because the request took many by surprise, including two of the aldermen who represent the area. But the land purchase was approved unanimously by the City Council several weeks later, and now the Urban League is moving forward with an ambitious plan to determine what the community wants to happen with those eight lots plus other Urban League-owned properties in the area. Once those desires are determined, Johnson said work will begin to make things happen.        

Women’s History Month. See how Black women remain the driving force for social change amid attempts to strip them of political power and influence. His legacy lives on. This week, Marc H. Morial delivered the eulogy for the late transformational leader Dr. Norman C. Francis. See how he paid his respects. 61 years later. The Bloody Sunday anniversary honors courageous leaders like John Lewis, who risked their lives for voting rights. Dive deeper on Substack. We're heading to Nashville! Get a sneak peek of what to expect this summer on a special episode of Urban League Live featuring Marc Morial & Clifton Harris. Understanding social dynamics. Sign up for our free webinar for tips on how to make intentional choices about where to invest your energy in the workplace

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
— Shirley Chisholm

It’s no secret that women, specifically Black women, have been a driving force for freedom in this country since its inception. 

From the words of Phillis Wheatley condemning the evils of slavery on the eve of the American Revolution, and Sojourner Truth’s indelible Ain't I a Woman?” speech at the 1851 Women's Rights Convention held in Akron, Ohio, Black women have been the heartbeat of this movement. 

What troubles me in a modern context is how little Black women are recognized for their contributions to this country and the sordid attempts to strip them of political power and influence today. 

Use code FFXNUL while shopping at Fashion Fair, and they’ll donate 15% of purchases to the National Urban League.

Meet us in Nashville. Here’s why we’re taking #NULConf26 to the epicenter of resistance against authoritarianism this summer| Music City. See snippets from a powerful week at the Urban League of Middle Tennessee's Equal Opportunity Day Luncheon, TV interviews, and more. | Season 2 is a wrap! Watch how Black communities across the country are reckoning with harmful data centers, reparations, the Black Church, and more. | State of the Union. See how the President's address only emphasizes the urgency of our Defend Democracy, Demand Diversity, Defeat Poverty platform. | Black history isn’t seasonal. As we close out Black History Month, our commitment to protect our history remains strong amid attacks on diversity.

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

"Nashville prepared me. If it hadn't been for Nashville, I would not be the person I am now." – Congressman John Lewis

Nashville’s streets have long carried the echoes of America’s most disciplined and courageous civil‑rights activism. It was here, in 1960, that students from local colleges launched a sit‑in campaign so strategic and unwavering that it became a national blueprint for nonviolent resistance. Their actions not only made Nashville the first major Southern city to desegregate its lunch counters—they shaped the moral and tactical core of the civil‑rights movement and helped forge the leadership of icons like John Lewis and Diane Nash. Nashville’s history is not just remembered; it is lived, embedded in the city’s identity, and carried forward by every new generation confronting injustice.