National Urban League’s 100th Anniversary

To commemorate its 100th anniversary, the National Urban League will usher in a new era of civil rights, taking advantage of advanced technology to introduce the first ever social services social mobilization platform targeted toward urban America. This massive, comprehensive SMP is a major component of \”I Am Empowered\”, a bold new initiative that will inspire the nation and allow the Urban League to engage, connect and serve urban America like it never has before.

The \”I Am Empowered\” initiative takes the Urban League’s tradition of pulling people out of poverty and putting them on the path to economic empowerment to the next level. With \”I Am Empowered\”, the National Urban League is challenging itself and the nation to eliminate racial gaps and disparities in housing, education, employment and healthcare. The organization will encourage people around the country to take the \”I Am Empowered\” pledge and commit their time and talents to achieving goals in these important areas by 2025.

The \”I Am Empowered\” SMP is a vast, interactive web community that uses 21^st century technology to unite people from all walks of life with the Urban League, its affiliates, coalition of supporters and one another in one location. Members can access information, services and to engage to advance the cause of equality 24 hours a day, seven days week in real time, online.

\”The National Urban League may be 100 years old but we don’t have any gray hair,\” said President and CEO Marc H. Morial. \”We are more energetic, more focused and more determined than ever before to create a level playing field in our nation, especially as minorities are disproportionately suffering from the effects of a battered economy. The \”I Am Empowered\” initiative not only strives to galvanize a nation to serve others, but positions the National Urban League in the right place to connect with more people and to serve urban communities better in the 21^st century and beyond.\”

The \”I Am Empowered\” viral empowerment community harnesses all social media vehicles, including Facebook and Twitter, to let members customize their experience, create profiles and sub-groups, advocate on issues and upload and share videos, content and information with others. Members also can obtain assistance on issues such as home ownership and entrepreneurship through an ever-expanding set of tool boxes and other guided experiences. The online and mobile platforms also connect the Urban League and its family of nearly 100 affiliates in one continuous community for the first time.

People can become a part of this special community and take the \”I Am Empowered\” pledge at www.iamempowered.com. Individuals also can text EMPOWER to 69866 or download the IAE mobile application, available at the Apple App Store, Android Market and coming soon, the Blackberry App World, to take the pledge.

\”I Am Empowered\” has the support of celebrity ambassadors and has an Honorary Centennial Committee with prominent individuals such as former President Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby Quincy, Jones, Magic Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Gen. Colin L. Powell (Ret.) and Spike Lee.

The legacy of the National Urban League stands on a strong foundation of service that began in 1910. The Urban League movement grew out of the 20^th century black migration, when blacks flooded the north to flee economic, social and political oppression in the south. Since its inception, the National Urban League has been at the forefront of the freedom movement, staying committed to its mission of bringing economic empowerment to urban America. The organization has flourished and grown with impeccable leadership that started with Ruth Standish Baldwin and Dr. George Edmund Haynes, and its success has continued through the tenures of Eugene Kinckle Jones, Lester Granger, Whitney M. Young, Jr., Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., John E. Jacob, Hugh B. Price and now Morial H. Morial, who is advancing the organization into the next 100 years, serving more than 2 million people.

\”I am so proud of the National Urban League’s rich history and what it has done for people over the past 100 years,\” said former Urban League president Hugh B. Price. \”Our organization has been a champion for minorities in housing, employment, education and healthcare – areas critical to pursing and achieving equality in this country. As we move forward by extending our reach and improving our way of servicing those who need our assistance, I’m excited about what the Urban League can and will do for urban communities throughout the 21^st century.\”