National Urban League in AMPLIFY! September Newsletter

In its September 2025 Newsletter AMPLIFY! highlights the 115th anniversary of the National Urban League! Formed in 1910 in New York, the Urban League works with community leaders, policy makers, and corporate partners to elevate standards of living for African Americans and other historically underserved groups. Formed in 1910 from three different community organizations, the Committee for the Improvement of Industrial Conditions Among Negroes in New York (1906), the National League for the Protection of Colored Women (1906), and the Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes (1910), the Urban League became a pillar in New York for newly migrated African Americans from rural locations. Helping with securing housing, work, and adjusting to urban life, the Urban League became a community staple, serving as a meeting ground to address community issues big and small. This eventually spread across multiple states. Today, the National Urban League has 90 affiliates serving 300 communities in 37 states and the District of Columbia. They serve more than two million lives annually. 

The Urban League was founded by George Edmund Hayes, the first African American to earn a Ph.D from Columbia University, and Ruth Standish Baldwin, a New York City philanthropist. As time went on, the initial cause of the league shifted to tackle larger issues like fighting for employment rights under the leadership of Eugene Kinckle Jones, co-founder of the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha at Cornell University. Lester Blackwell Granger directed funds towards the March on Washington during his time as Executive Secretary. Jones and Granger are greatly credited with championing the cause of securing employment opportunities for Black people. Whitney Young Jr’s leadership led to the league becoming a partner to the civil rights movement. He played a key role in organizing the historic March on Washington and advised Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon. High-quality leadership became a norm of the league, allowing, over the years, the development of the State of Black America Report, National Urban League Incentives to Excel and Succeed (NULITES) youth program, and more! 

Rightly, the National Urban League recognizes tobacco as a public health challenge. The creation of their programs, Empowered to Quit —a cessation project that aims to assess tobacco usage and habits among African Americans in three target markets —and Project Wellness, which equips affiliates to reduce health inequities within their communities, have enabled the League to make strides in tackling disparities. They have even participated in No Menthol Sunday! Their most recent success is the Grand Rapids Urban League's Students Lead Anti-Vaping/Smoking Campaign, an organization that focuses on promoting a healthy lifestyle. Actions of the project include a social media presence with #ThisIsntGoingToEndWell and park clean-ups, which collected 1,300 cigarette butts! . AMPLIFY! Shares this connection to community work, staying close to who we serve by supporting Black communities across California. The Urban League is a reminder of the strength found in community when collective action across cities, states, and even nations creates meaningful change. 

More on the National Urban League Here: 

• National Urban League Success Stories: https://nul.org/success-stories?page=0 

• Fact Sheet: https://nul.org/quick-facts 

• Project Wellness: https://nul.org/sites/default/files/ProjectWellness

Subscribe to AMPLIFY!'s Newsletter Here