National Urban League President Marc H. Morial comes to Indy for Economic Club Luncheon

Marc H. Morial – President, National Urban League

About this month’s speaker:

As President of the National Urban League since 2003, Marc H. Morial has been the primary catalyst for an era of change and a transformation for the 100-plus-year-old civil rights organization. His energetic and skilled leadership has expanded the League’s work around an empowerment agenda, redefining civil rights in the 21st century with a renewed emphasis on closing the economic gaps between Whites and Blacks and rich and poor Americans.

Under his stewardship, the National Urban League has had record fundraising success and secured the Better Business Bureau nonprofit certification, establishing the National Urban League as a leading national nonprofit organization. He presided over the League’s centennial celebration in 2010, ushering in a new century of service and establishing empowerment goals for every division across the League and its affiliates. Morial’s creativity has led to initiatives such as the Urban Youth Empowerment Program, which assists young adults in securing sustainable jobs, and Entrepreneurship Centers in five cities to help the growth of small businesses. He also created the National Urban League Empowerment Fund, which has pumped almost $200 million into urban impact businesses, including minority businesses, through debt and equity investments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Morial led the Urban League in sounding 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. Under his leadership, NUL also responded to the murder of George Floyd with advocacy, organizing, and policy actions, including 21 Pillars for Redefining Public Safety and Restoring Public Trust, a framework for criminal justice advocacy.

Perhaps one of Morial’s most significant contributions to the National Urban League’s legacy is the Urban League Empowerment Center in Harlem. The $242 million, 414,000-square-foot Urban League Empowerment Center is one of the most significant economic development projects in Harlem’s recent history – and a return home for the League that was founded in Harlem in 1910. The Center will serve as the headquarters for the National Urban League and be home to the Urban Civil Rights Museum Experience, New York City’s first civil rights museum, and the National Urban League Institute for Race, Equity, and Justice. The Center will also bring 170 affordable housing units to Harlem, below-market office space for nonprofits and community groups, including One Hundred Black Men of New York, United Negro College Fund New York, and the Harlem-based Jazzmobile, and retail space featuring Target and Trader Joe’s.

To Be Equal is a syndicated weekly opinion column distributed by the National Urban League to news outlets across the nation since 1963, when it was started as “the Voice of Black America” by National Urban League President, Whitney M. Young, Jr. The column has been authored by Marc H. Morial since 2003.

Biography Source: https://nul.org/

Purchase your ticket, mark your calendar, and plan for a stimulating conversation, and network during a delicious lunch.