On This Election Day in 2020, Your Urban League Will Stay the Course

2020 illuminated a spotlight on deeply rooted racial and socioeconomic divisions that have crippled the progress of our nation. Our commitment to you is to stay the course to dismantle systems of inequality and oppression that were woven into the fabric of our democracy. Like the generations before us, it is our duty to use our voices and lived experiences as the tools to enact meaningful and lasting change.

The Power of Collaboration Will Help Us Get Through This Together

Our call in this moment is not just to survive, but to thrive. When we cultivate relationships in times of calm, we can activate them powerfully in times of crisis.

There have been more mass shootings than days in 2019*

Restoring Trust After Teenager Assaulted in Tamarac

Compassion, honesty, accountability, and, most of all, trust is all at stake for us in Broward County in the wake of the recent assault on 15-year-old Delucca “Lucca” Rolle by Broward Sheriff’s deputies. We, as a community, must take on the hard topics surrounding the issue of violence in all its forms in order to safeguard our way of life.

African-Americans Can Have Major Impact with Their Purchasing Power

Social injustice continues to remain a big issue. You can see it across our community in the widening gaps between the rich and poor, the unequal distribution of government resources, and the disenfranchisement of individuals and entire groups from the political process.

Long Arc of History Will Judge President Obama Favorably

“Yes, we can…yes, we did.” These were the bookend pledges of Barack Obama -- the words he used to describe the start, and now the end, of an extraordinary eight-year presidency full of expectations that he'd deliver on hope and change for Americans, especially people of color.

Importance of Supporting Health Care Reform

In the past three years, the rate of African American without health insurance has dropped by nearly 50 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That amounted to about three million adults gaining medical coverage -- many for the first time in many years. Those are astounding figures.

The Need for More African-American Male Teachers

Education is a key component of social-economic success in our nation. Yet gaining a quality education isn’t so easy for many African-American children who end up in some of our lowest-performing schools. One way to change that is to attract more diverse, empathic teachers into our school system so they can serve as good role models to our children and make education more engaging, fun and practical to daily life.

Dr. Germaine Smith-Baugh Celebrates 20 Years of Service

Wow! It has been 20 years since I donned my one good interview suit to convince the CEO, Don Bowen and the Vice President, Blanche Templeton to hire me. It has been 20 years since I walked through our doors with a small box with decorative items for my first "real" office. It has been 20 years today that I can say I made the BEST decision to join the Urban League team.

New Broward Initiative to Reduce Diabetes and Congestive Health Failure

A few weeks ago, the Urban League of Broward County received great news: we are the recipient of a $350,000 Humana Communities Benefit charitable grant funded by the Humana Foundation to help prevent the spread of diabetes and reduce the cases of congestive heart failure in our community. These funds are much needed locally to tackle these serious health issues.

Building More Community Partnerships to Strengthen Our Schools

How do we strengthen our public schools? Here’s one solution: find new and innovative ways to increase student and family involvement in the education system.