CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS DENOUNCE SCOTUS DECISION

IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CASE

The coalition includes the National Urban League,

National Action Network, NAACP,

National Coalition on Black Civic Participation,

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law,

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights,

National Council of Negro Women (NCNW),

UnidosUS, Asian Americans Advancing Justice,

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 30, 2023) – Yesterday, a coalition of civil rights groups today issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.

“The extreme decisions of the Supreme Court to overturn affirmative action in the college admissions process was incredibly disappointing. The conservative-majority court erased decades of momentous progress. The effects of this decision will further perpetuate the deep and structural racism that exists in this country.

“To claim that affirmative action violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment goes to show that there are members of the Supreme Court who are unfamiliar with the amendment’s history and intention. Our nation is stronger because of the unique experiences and talents of all people. Yesterday’s decision serves as a distressing reminder of the uphill battle we continue to face in dismantling systemic racism and the potential implications this decision can have on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the workplace.

“Together, we will fight relentlessly until every student has the equal opportunity to access higher education and pursue their dreams. Our country thrives when we nurture the talents and potential of students from all backgrounds and build respect for everyone. Despite this Supreme Court ruling, we remain resolute in our commitment to constructing equitable pathways to higher education and the opportunity that comes with it.”

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE HAILS THE U.S. SUPREME COURT’S VOTING RIGHTS DECISION

AS A WIN FOR JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY 

Washington, D.C. (June 8, 2023) – Today, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Milligan:

“Today’s decision is a welcome affirmation of the nation’s obligation to protect our most sacred Constitutional right and a rejection of the ongoing efforts to further dismantle voting rights protections in Alabama and across the country. As a civil rights organization dedicated to economic and social justice, we recognize that unfettered access to the ballot box is essential to achieving the equitable, inclusive, “more perfect union” that we seek.

“While today’s decision was a win for democracy, it is not enough. We urge the swift consideration and passage of comprehensive voting rights reform measures, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. We look forward to seeing the other decisions that the Supreme Court issues that could potentially impact civil rights protections and democracy – including the gerrymandering case Moore v. Harper – moving forward.”

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE CELEBRATES

20 YEARS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

UNDER PRESIDENT AND CEO MARC H. MORIAL

NEW YORK (June 2, 2023) – Just a few weeks after taking the reins of the nation’s largest historic civil rights organization, Marc H. Morial delivered his first “State of the Urban League” keynote address at the Conference in Pittsburgh, laying out a bold, 5-point Empowerment Agenda that would come to define the next two decades of civil rights leadership.

Twenty years later, these five points stand enshrined as the National Urban League’s five pillars: Jobs and Economic Empowerment, Education and Youth Development, Health and Quality of Life, Housing and Community Development, Justice, and Civic Engagement.

As the first elected official to lead the National Urban League, Morial has brought an unprecedented political savvy and deep comprehension of the inner workings of government not just to the Urban League, but to the entire 21^st Century Civil Rights Movement.

In that prophetic speech in Pittsburgh 20 years ago, Marc said “We must enthusiastically embrace our heritage as a civil rights organization that promotes racial justice, from employment to police violence, from redistricting issues to racial profiling.” Since then, Morial has marshaled the forces that mobilized to defeat the lynching brute “Jim Crow” to battle his treacherous, gerrymandering son “James Crow, Esquire,” and now stands just as defiantly against his tiki-torch-carrying grandson, “Jimmy Crow.”

Morial’s 20th anniversary will be reflected among the key themes of the National Urban League Conference in Houston on July 26, through 29, through an examination of how the nation has changed and how the racial justice movement has evolved.  As a literal child of the Civil Rights Movement whose activist parents’ courtship began over “an intense conversation about Brown v. Board of Education,” Morial’s perspective is sweeping and unique.

Key milestones:

• June 2, 2003 — Marc H. Morial, former two-term mayor of New Orleans, becomes the first elected official to hold the office of President and CEO of the National Urban League.
• July 27, 2003 — Morial outlines the 5-point Empowerment Agenda: Education & Youth, Economic Empowerment, Health & Quality of Life, Civic Engagement, and Civil Rights & Racial Justice, during the National Urban League Conference in Pittsburgh
• March 24, 2004 — Inaugural Legislative Policy Conference opens with the release of the first State of Black America report to include the Equality Index, a tool to compare the social and economic status of Black and white Americans
• May 2004 – Ebony magazine honors Morial as one of the 100+ Most Influential Black Americans
• October 18, 2005 — Morial’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, a key element of the League’s successful advocacy for reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act.  
• October 14, 2005 — Katrina Bill of Rights, establishes a framework for protecting and aiding Gulf Coast residents working to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina
• 2006 –Launch of Project Ready, a comprehensive program to prepare high school students for college, work, and life
• August 15, 2007 – Publication of Opportunity Compact: Blueprint for Economic Equity, detailing policy recommendations to empower all Americans
• March 6, 2008 – Morial declares a homeowner’s state of emergency and issues the Homeowners’ Bill of Rights.  National Urban League responds to the Great Recession, advocating for targeted relief for hard-hit urban neighborhoods and enhanced social service initiatives.
• July 1, 2009 – A four-star rating from Charity Navigator places National Urban League in the top 10% of U.S. charities for good governance, fiscal responsibility, and other best practices.
• March 2, 2010 – “I Am Empowered” centennial campaign celebrating 100 years of advocacy and empowerment, unveiled on NBC’s Today show
• December 2011 – Induction to the National Parks Service International Civil Rights Walk of Fame
• June 25, 2013 –U.S. Supreme Court’s Shelby v. Holder decision, gutting the Voting Rights Act, triggers an escalation of voting rights advocacy and civic engagement efforts.
• August 24, 2013 – Realize the Dream March and Rally commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington
• December 18, 2014 — Appointment to President Obama’s Task Force on 21^st Century Policing, created in response to the unjustified use of deadly force against Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and others
• November 9, 2016 – The election of President Donald Trump, prompted a unified response by legacy civil rights organizations, led by the National Urban League, to a surge of racial hostility, hate crimes, and discriminatory public policies.
• August 2, 2017 – NonProfit Times names Morial as one of the nation’s Top 50 nonprofit executives
• July 18, 2019 –National Urban League announces future relocation to Harlem and construction of 425,000 square-foot Urban League Empowerment Center
• March 16, 2020 – National Urban League sounds the alarm about the racially disparate impact of the burgeoning coronavirus crisis, commencing an intense advocacy and direct relief campaign later to be called The Urban League Fights For You.
• May 5, 2020 – Publication of The Gumbo Coalition: 10 Leadership Lessons That Help You Inspire, Unite, and Achieve
• April 26, 2021 — 21 Pillars for Redefining Public Safety and Restoring Public Trust establishes a framework for criminal justice advocacy
• November 12, 2022 – Premiere of Gumbo Coalition, a documentary on Morial’s work, along with Janet Murgia of UnidosUS, confronting the challenges of 2020

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE, URBAN LEAGUE OF LOUISIANA, XAVIER & DILLARD UNIVERSITIES,

JOIN NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO COMBAT EXTREMIST ATTACKS ON EDUCATION

AND OTHER RACIAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES

NEW ORLEANS (May 3, 2023) – Access to truthful history, diverse books and critical ideas for students and educators are crucial to the nation’s history as a multicultural democracy, National Urban League President Marc H. Morial said today in observance of the Freedom to Learn National Day of Action.

“The so-called ‘War on Wokeness’ threatens to eradicate decades of progress toward racial justice, by warping our view of the nation’s past, and thwart our future progress toward an equitable, multicultural society,” Morial said.

The Freedom to Learn National Day of Action, a campaign initiated by the African American Policy Forum, is an uprising in defense of truthful, inclusive education and efforts to remedy systemic racial inequities.

Morial and Urban League of Louisiana President and CEO Judy Reese Morse were joined at a media briefing by Urban League of the Upstate (South Carolina) President and CEO Dr. Gail Wilson Awan, Urban League of Rochester (New York) Dr. Seanelle Hawkins, Transformative Justice Coalition President & Founder, Barbara R. Arnwine, Esq.; Xavier University of Louisiana President Dr. C. Reynold Verret, and Dillard University Executive Vice President of  Institutional Advancement Stephanie Rogers.

As highlighted in the National Urban League’s 2023 State of Black America® report, “Democracy in Peril: Confronting the Threat Within,” 21 states already have enacted measures that censor the honest examination of racism and race in American society, and the College Board has excised crucial material from its AP African American Studies curriculum in response.

The leaders called on the College Board:

• to restore the AP African American Studies curriculum.
• to commit to making the course available online to students who live in states in which politicians have enacted bans on books, knowledge, and ideas contained in the original curriculum that would prevent the course from being taught in those states.
• to conduct an independent investigation into how the course development process was corrupted by outside political forces.
• to hold all implicated College Board officials accountable.

“Our children have a right to be taught the truth in our nation’s classrooms,” Morial said. “It is a betrayal of democratic values for any responsible leader to actively participate in distorting or denying any part of our country’s history.”

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE JOINS 227 ORGANIZATIONS TO SEND LETTER TO HHS SECRETARY

AS MEDICAID COVERAGE CONTINUES TO UNWIND

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 25, 2023) – Today, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial joined UnidosUS and other health and human rights organizations in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra asking to secure Medicaid coverage for millions of families as unwinding period continues:

“Unprecedented Medicaid terminations, focused on historically disadvantaged communities, would deepen already severe health inequities that exist should the unwinding period continue,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “We urge Secretary Becerra and the Biden Administration to preserve health care coverage for millions of families before it is too late.”

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed legislation to provide additional financial resources to state and territory Medicaid programs to protect access to health insurance for vulnerable, low-income Americans. These continuous coverage protections ensured that no one could be disenrolled from Medicaid during the public health emergency. As a result, more than 90 million low-income people are now enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. This coverage has guaranteed beneficiaries access to quality, affordable health insurance during the public health emergency. As of April 1st, this requirement has ended, putting millions of eligible families at risk of losing coverage due to paperwork requirements and red tape.

“We remain concerned that unwinding could cause the largest Medicaid losses in history, with disproportionate harm experienced by communities of color, mothers, and children,” organization leaders wrote. “To prevent a civil rights and health equity disaster, we urge you to make the strongest possible use of the powers recently granted by Congress for holding states accountable to preserve eligible families’ health care.”

The letter outlines four recommendations that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should consider avoiding to prevent a tidal wave of paperwork terminations from ending health care for millions of eligible families.

To read the original letter, click here.

 

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE MOURNS THE PASSING OF

CIVIL RIGHTS ICON HARRY BELAFONTE

NEW YORK (April 25, 2023) – National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement regarding the death of Harry Belafonte:

 “The passing of civil rights icon Harry Belafonte leaves a devastating void in the racial justice community. Before his rise, no entertainer had ever used the platform and resources his fame afforded him to accomplish so much. His personal and financial support was critical to every major event of the Civil Rights Movement, from the Freedom Rides and the Birmingham Campaign to the March on Washington and the Freedom Summer of voter registration. 

“Every American who works for racial justice takes inspiration from his unwavering commitment. He faced down threats to his career, having been blacklisted during the McCarthy Era, and threats to his life, notably when he and Sydney Poitier were chased by Klansmen while delivering contributions to voting rights activists in Mississippi.

“It was an honor and a privilege to know him. The National Urban League and the Urban League Movement will cherish his memory and strive to honor his legacy.”

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE AND AKRON URBAN LEAGUE RENEW CALLS FOR POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

AFTER JURY DECLINES TO INDICT IN JAYLAND WALKER SHOOTING 

WASHINGTON, D.C. and AKRON, OHIO (April 19, 2023) – Today, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial and Akron Urban League President and CEO Teresa LeGrair issued the following statement after a jury chose not to indict the officers for shooting Jayland Walker:

“A routine traffic stop should not be a death sentence for Black people in this country,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “I am disappointed – disappointed that the officers involved won’t be held accountable, disappointed that Jayland was killed so brutally, and disappointed that our black lives do not matter. There is no question that eight Akron Police Officers used disproportionate force against Jayland and while we are pleased to see the community has formed its own civilian review board, this is only the first step. We demand that the Department of Justice conduct a thorough investigation into the murder of Jayland Walker and urge national leaders to pass legislation creating an accountability standard for police officers into law.”

“Our hearts are heavy and filled with mourning surrounding the grand jury decision on the fatal shooting of Jayland Walker by Akron police officers. We continue to stand together with the Walker family, and we also recognize the Akron community’s hurt and outrage around the killing of Jayland Walker. The Akron Urban League will continue to advocate for systemic change to prevent future tragedies like this from occurring in our community,” said Teresa R. LeGrair, President and CEO, Akron Urban League. “For too long, there has been a sense that police officers are immune to consequences for their actions, even when they result in injury or death. Jayland Walker should still be alive, along with countless other Black lives taken too soon and too often. We understand the impact systemic racism has on the Black community and our promise has and will always be to fight for justice, stand with our community in a time of need, and to provide support and safe spaces to those that need to process this tragedy.

“We will take the necessary steps to work alongside our community to implement an effective citizen’s oversight police board that will provide an additional layer of transparency to continue to build trust between the community and the Akron Police Department (APD). Our goal is to dismantle the long-standing practices of institutional racism within police departments and build a bridge between the community and APD to reimagine public safety for Black and Brown people.”

National Urban League and Tennessee Affiliates Condemn Expulsion of Black Tennessee Lawmakers, Urge Passage of Common-Sense Gun Safety Measures

WASHINGTON, D.C and TENNESEE (April 6, 2023) – Today, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial, Knoxville Area Urban League President and CEO Charles Lomax, Ph.D., Memphis Urban League President and CEO Tonja Fifer, Urban League of Middle Tennessee President and CEO Clifton Harris, and Urban League of Greater Chattanooga President and CEO Candy Johnson, condemned the expulsion of Tennessee Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, two Black Tennessee state legislators, urge the House to reverse the move and focus on passing sensible gun safety measures:

“Tonight, Republican lawmakers have set a dangerous precedent in Tennessee, proving what we have known all along: the safety of their constituents is not their top priority. The bold and brazen attempt to silence their colleagues with an antiquated House rule and compare their advocacy to the January 6th insurrection shows that the majority will stop at nothing to maintain their status quo and their increasing willingness to silence their counterparts. These methods represent a clear and present danger to the state of our democracy.

“Nearly a week ago, another school was plagued by another mass shooting, claiming the lives of six people. Another community was devastated. Families destroyed. And instead of focusing on finding solutions to the growing threat of gun violence, the Republican majority has decided to reprimand their colleagues and expel them. When are we going to focus on the real issues? They are more concerned with rebuking Democrats for protesting rather than focusing on ways to prevent more school shootings.

“Many important reforms in this country have originated from protests against established practices. To punish these men for exercising their constitutional right to free speech is not only unjustifiable but also un-American. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives was successful in removing two of their colleagues, not only disenfranchising over 200,000 Tennesseans, and leaving them without proper representation.

“On behalf of our 92 affiliates and the Urban League movement, we stand with Reps. Pearson and Jones and other leaders in their continued fight for sensible gun safety measures and call on their Republican colleagues to end this, restore the fate of your constituents so that we can get back to fighting for real change.”

National Urban League, National Action Network, NAACP, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and National Council of Negro Women: “Together We Stand Against Fearmongers” 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 4, 2023) – Today, leaders of the nation’s Black-led legacy civil rights organizations emphatically rejected the effort to suppress Black history and endorsed the Freedom to Learn campaign, a movement created to fight the growing disinformation campaign against the erasure of history and lived experiences of marginalized communities, critical race theory, and equitable legislation:

“On the anniversary of the assassination of civil rights icon and leader Martin Luther King, Jr., we come together to officially endorse the Freedom to Learn campaign – a campaign initiated by Kimberlé Crenshaw and Khalil Gibran Muhammad – that will work to confront the abhorrent attack on the freedom of the next generation to learn their collective history and its impact on the present, which is an assault on democracy itself. We are alarmed by the concerted efforts to discredit and censor vital topics such as structural racism and gender inequity.

“At this very moment, 21 states have enacted measures that censor the honest examination of racism and race in this society; a measure that has already impacted millions of K-12 and college students. Those who promote this extremist agenda of ‘anti-wokeness’ are undermining not only public education, but diversity and inclusion practices throughout government, the military, and corporate America.  Vulnerable, marginalized, and historically oppressed communities are merely pawns in their game of extreme partisan politics.

“This movement to ban information is not only a detriment to future generations and their understanding of history but to the efforts of our growing multiracial democracy to combat systems of white supremacy. Our organizations understand that if we expect to be successful in creating equity and fighting for justice within the communities we serve, we must be able to address and discuss the very issues others are fighting to ban.

“As leaders of the nation’s legacy civil rights organizations, we understand acutely how our history impacts the present. Our children have a right to be taught the truth in our nation’s classrooms – all of it. Not a watered down, inaccurate, misleading, or sanitized version of it. It is a betrayal of democratic values for any responsible leader to actively participate in distorting or denying any part of our country’s history.

“That is why the Freedom to Learn campaign is vital. Together we stand against fearmongers who falsely allege that anti-racist teachings are a form of racism and stand for the honest reckoning with our history that is necessary to create an inclusive, multi-racial democracy.”

Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League

Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President, National Action Network

Derrick Johnson, President and CEO, NAACP

Melanie Campbell, President and CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable

Damon Hewitt, President and Executive Director, Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel, Legal Defense Fund

Maya Wiley, President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Shavon Arline-Bradley, President and National Chair, National Council of Negro Women

All parents want their children to have access to fully resourced schools, prepared and qualified teachers, safe and welcoming places for students to learn, and the supports to make sure all students can thrive. The recent introduction of the Parents Bill of Rights Act (HR 5) in the House of Representatives, however, is not only divisive and designed to politicize our schools, but redundant and out of sync with what parents want.

Some members of the House Majority have seized on the issue of “parents’ rights,” and are blaming teachers and administrators for stonewalling and silencing parents during the pandemic. In fact, they’re making this a major conservative talking point, even if it inflames the culture wars and burns down the public schoolhouse in the process. They plan to introduce parental rights and school choice legislation that could divert funds — through the expanded use of vouchers — from an already strapped public education system, in which more than half the students are students of color.  This federal legislation is inspiring a host of controversial copycat bills and proposals in a number of state legislatures that seek to outlaw CRT and undermine public education and academic freedom across the nation via parental rights laws, book bans, and other classroom censorship bills, and voucher bills that defund public schools.

The truth is that existing federal law already requires schools and districts to provide parents with information about what their kids are learning, how they are performing in school, and the qualifications of their children’s teachers. All parents really want is a great education for their children. Recent polling indicates that parents are less worried about wedge issues and more worried about protecting their children from violence in schools, and ensuring that kids get adequate mental health supports and help in post-pandemic learning recovery.

Providing these essential supports and meeting students where they are should be U.S. lawmakers’, schools’, and parents’ top priorities. Let’s start by ensuring that schools engage with families and work together with them to improve academic outcomes.

For united we stand and divided we fall.

In solidarity,
Lynn

Lynn C. Jennings, Ph.D.
Senior Director of National & State Partnerships
The Education Trust