National Urban League

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The Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes was founded in New York City on September 29, 1910, by Ruth Standish Baldwin and Dr. George Edmund Haynes, among others.Parris, Guichard and Lester Brooks. Blacks in the City: A History of the National Urban League. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1971. p. 28. It merged with the Committee for the Improvement of Industrial Conditions Among Negroes in New York (founded in New York in 1906) and the National League for the Protection of Colored Women (founded in 1905), and was renamed the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes.Dodson, N. "New Chapter in Social Uplift." Afro-American (1893–1988): 2. Dec 30 1911. ProQuest. Web. 6 Feb. 2016.Parris, Guichard and Lester Brooks. Blacks in the City: A History of the National Urban League. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1971. pp. 32–34. Haynes served as the organization's first Executive Director.

In 1918, Eugene K. Jones took the leadership of the organization. Under his direction, the League significantly expanded its multifaceted campaign to crack the barriers to black employment, spurred first by the boom years of the 1920s, and then by the desperate years of the Great Depression.Armfield, Felix L. Eugene Kinckle Jones: The National Urban League and Black Social Work, 1910–1940. Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 2012.

In 1920, the organization took its present name, the National Urban League.Parris, Guichard and Lester Brooks. Blacks in the City: A History of the National Urban League. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1971. The mission of the Urban League movement, as stated by the National Urban League, is "to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.""[http://nul.iamempowered.com/who-we-are/mission-and-history Mission and History]." National Urban League. Accessed 6 February 2016. When the organization expanded its facilities to conduct more research in 1920, the new Department of Research came under the charge of Lillian Anderson Turner Alexander, a rising civil rights activist recruited by Jones.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107682704/urban-league-activities/ |title=Urban League Activities |work=The New York Age |page=8 |date=6 March 1920 |access-date=2022-08-15 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Jones played a significant role in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, taking leave from the League to head the Department of Commerce unit for the study of "Negro problems", and serving as part of a group of African-American advisors known as the "Black Cabinet".{{Cite book|title=Empowering Communities, Changing Lives: 100 Years of the National Urban League|last=Smith|first=Alonzo|publisher=The Donning Company|year=2011|isbn=978-1578646838|location=New York City|pages=72}}

In 1941, Lester Granger was appointed Executive Secretary and led the NUL's effort to support the March on Washington proposed by A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin and A. J. Muste to protest racial discrimination in defense work and the military.Thomas, Jesse. "Urban League Bulletin." The Atlanta Constitution (1881–1945): 1. Jan 25 1942. ProQuest. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. A week before the March was scheduled to take place, President Roosevelt issued an executive order creating the Fair Employment Practices Committee.

In the wake of World War II, Black veterans who fought racial hatred overseas returned to the United States determined to fight it at home, giving new energy to the Civil Rights Movement. As hundreds of thousands of new jobs opened up, shifting the economy from industrial manufacturing to a white-collar, service-oriented economy, the National Urban League turned its attention to placing HBCU graduates in professional positions.

In 1961, Whitney Young became executive director amidst the expansion of activism in the civil rights movement, which provoked a change for the League. Young substantially expanded the League's fund-raising ability and made the League a full partner in the civil rights movement. In 1963, the League hosted the planning meetings of A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders for the August March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. During Young's ten-year tenure at the League, he initiated programs such as "Street Academy", an alternative education system to prepare high school dropouts for college; and "New Thrust", an effort to help local black leaders identify and solve community problems. Young also pushed for federal aid to cities.

Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr., was, from 1975 to 1981, the head of the Urban League in San Diego, California. In 1981, U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan tapped Pendleton as the chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, a position which he held until his sudden death in 1988. Pendleton sought to steer the commission in the conservative direction in line with Reagan's views on social and civil rights policies.{{cite web|url=http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/nkaa/record.php?note_id=1144|title=Notable Kentucky African Americans Database|publisher=uky.edu|access-date=March 19, 2013}}

In 1994, Hugh Price was appointed as president of the Urban League.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-03-op-11346-story.html |title=Hugh Price : Rebuilding the Urban League--and the Inner City, as Well |last=Terry |first=Gayle Pollard |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=3 July 1994 |access-date=2025-01-01 }}

In 2003, Marc Morial, former mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, was appointed the league's eighth President and Chief Executive Officer. He worked to reenergize the movement's diverse constituencies by building on the legacy of the organization and increasing the profile of the organization.{{cite web |url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/honorable-marc-h-morial |title=The Honorable Marc H. Morial |website=The History Makers |access-date=2023-04-22}}

The National Urban League is an organizational member of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, which advocates gun control. In 1989, it was the beneficiary of all proceeds from the Stop the Violence Movement and their hip hop single, "Self Destruction".{{Cite web |title=National Urban League |url=https://www.almazenye.com/bsgniqk6/national-urban-league&ved=2ahUKEwimjPyxmOL3AhUWw4UKHaTMBfUQFnoECCgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3XOuAP1vuKjFTvIGnQ-eQ4 |access-date=2022-05-15 |website= Almazenye }}

In May 2017, the National Urban League produced the State of Black America TV Town Hall, which aired on TV One in 2017 and 2018.{{Cite web|date=2017-05-17|title=The National Urban League's State of Black America Townhall: How Far Have We Really Come?|url=https://tvone.tv/52289/the-national-urban-leagues-state-of-black-america-townhall-how-far-have-we-really-come/|access-date=2021-01-17|website=TV One|language=en-US}} The TV Town Hall elevated social issues related to African Americans through an interview style format with celebrity guests. The show was executive produced by Rhonda Spears Bell.

In February 2018, the National Urban League launched a weekly podcast, For the Movement, which discusses persistent policy, social and civil rights issues affecting communities of color.{{Cite web|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-movement/id1345148843|title=For The Movement on Apple Podcasts|website=Apple Podcasts}}

As of 2022, the National Urban League has 92 affiliates serving 300 communities, in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The National Urban League provides direct services in the areas of education, health care, housing, jobs, and justice—providing services to more than 3 million people nationwide. The organization also has a Washington Bureau that serves as its research, policy and advocacy arm on issues relating to Congress and the Administration.{{Cite web |title=About NUL |url=https://nul.org/about |access-date=2022-05-15 |website=}}

{{Main|National Urban League v. Trump}}

On February 19, 2025, the National Urban League joined civil rights organizations National Fair Housing Alliance and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago in a lawsuit against the executive orders 14151, 14168, and 14173 of the Trump administration,{{cite magazine |last1=Burga |first1=Solcyré |date=February 19, 2025 |title=Civil and Human Rights Organizations Sue Trump Administration Over DEI, Gender Orders |url=https://time.com/7259435/civil-rights-organizations-sue-trump-administration-over-dei-gender-orders/ |access-date=February 19, 2025 |magazine=Time}}{{cite web |date=February 19, 2025 |title=Case 1:25-cv-00471 |url=https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025.02.19-ECF-1-Complaint.pdf |access-date=February 19, 2025 |website=Legal Defense Fund}}{{cite news |last1=Daniels |first1=Cheyanne M. |date=February 19, 2025 |title=Civil and human rights groups sue over Trump diversity, transgender orders |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/race-politics/5153228-trump-administration-sued-over-diversity-orders/ |access-date=February 19, 2025 |work=The Hill}} on the grounds that these infringe upon civilians' rights to free speech and due process.{{cite magazine |last1=Burga |first1=Solcyré |date=February 19, 2025 |title=Civil and Human Rights Organizations Sue Trump Administration Over DEI, Gender Orders |url=https://time.com/7259435/civil-rights-organizations-sue-trump-administration-over-dei-gender-orders/ |access-date=February 19, 2025 |magazine=Time}}{{cite web |date=February 19, 2025 |title=Case 1:25-cv-00471 |url=https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025.02.19-ECF-1-Complaint.pdf |access-date=February 19, 2025 |website=Legal Defense Fund}}{{cite news |last1=Siemaszko |first1=Corky |date=February 19, 2025 |title=Civil rights groups sue Trump over anti-DEIA executive orders |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/civil-rights-groups-sue-trump-anti-deia-executive-orders-rcna192877 |access-date=February 19, 2025 |work=NBC News}}

{{Anchor|State of Black America}}

The State of Black America is an annual report published by the league.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/05/02/499244087/the-fine-print-in-the-state-of-black-america-report|title=The Fine Print In The 'State Of Black America' Report|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-05-04|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/national-urban-league-releases-state-black-america-2017/|title=The National Urban League just released a report that shows black America has a lot to worry about under Trump|work=Mother Jones|access-date=2018-05-04|language=en-US}}

The presidents (or executive directors) of the National Urban League have been:{{Cite web|url=http://nul.stage.iamempowered.com/who-we-are/mission-and-history|title=Mission and History|website=IAmEmpowered.com|access-date=2023-04-22|language=en-US}}

{{Portal|United States}}

• Affiliates:
• Chicago Urban League
• Urban League of Central Carolinas
• Urban League of Portland

{{reflist}}

• Carle, Susan D. Defining the Struggle: National Racial Justice Organizing, 1880–1915 (Oxford UP, 2013). 404pp. focus on NAACP and also Urban League.
• Hamilton, Dona Cooper. "The National Urban League and New Deal Programs." Social Service Review (1984): 227–243. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/30012271 in JSTOR]
• Parris, Guichard and Lester Brooks. Blacks in the City: A History of the National Urban League. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1971.
• Strickland, Arvarh E. History of the Chicago Urban League (U of Missouri Press, 1966).
• Touré F. Reed, Not Alms but Opportunity: The Urban League and the Politics of Racial Uplift, 1910–1950. (University of North Carolina Press, 2008). [https://www.questia.com/library/117896624/not-alms-but-opportunity-the-urban-league-and-the online]
• Weiss, Nancy Joan. The National Urban League, 1910–1940 (Oxford University Press, 1974).
• Wood, L. Hollingsworth. "The Urban League Movement." Journal of Negro History 9.2 (1924): 117–126. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2713635 in JSTOR]

{{Commons category}}

• [https://nul.org/ National Urban League website]
• [http://www.nulyp.net/ National Urban League Young Professionals Website]
• [http://soba.iamempowered.com/ State of Black America]
• Radio drama about the Northern Migration and how it gave birth to the league – "[https://archive.org/details/DestinationFreedom/DF_50-01-15_ep075-The_Birth_of_a_League.mp3 The Birth of a League]", a 1950 presentation from Destination Freedom, written by Richard Durham

• [http://rs5.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/1997/ms997012.pdf National Urban League Records] (1900–1988) held at the Library of Congress Manuscripts Division
• [https://search.lib.umich.edu/catalog/record/990027403290106381 Greater Lansing Urban League, Inc.] 1964–1976. At the [https://bentley.umich.edu/ Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan]
• The [https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv26011 Seattle Urban League Records] 1930–1997. 103.2 cubic feet. At the [https://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/laws/ Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections].
• [https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv28060 Civic Unity Committee Records.] 1938–1965. 24.8 cubic feet (58 boxes). Contains material related to the National Urban League, Seattle Urban League, and Portland Urban League. At the [http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/laws Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.]

{{Civil rights movement}}

{{NUL presidents}}

{{African American topics}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1910 establishments in New York City

Category:African Americans' rights organizations

Category:Civil rights organizations in the United States

Category:Non-profit organizations based in New York City

Category:Organizations established in 1910