Urban League Blog

Marc Morial, National Urban League President & CEO, released a statement today on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme:

(National Urban League Press Release May 26, 2009)
The National Urban League commends President Obama for his decision to nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. 

Judge Sotomayor appears to be an eminently qualified judge with the intellectual heft, strong record and common touch that is needed in a Supreme Court justice. We believe the President has made an outstanding choice.

Because of the National Urban League’s long-standing commitment to civil rights and social justice, we have a unique responsibility to our constituents to carefully evaluate and influence important national issues, including nominations to the United States federal courts, which play a critical role in protecting the civil rights of African Americans.

In evaluating a federal judicial nomination, the National Urban League’s primary concern is whether a nominee’s record demonstrates a commitment to upholding civil rights, equality of opportunity and social justice.   Our initial review of Judge Sotomayor’s record indicates that she meets these criteria.Prior to this nomination, the National Urban League shared our views with the President and senior Administration officials. We are pleased that the President took such great thought and care in this tremendously important appointment and sought the input of the National Urban League and many other diverse groups.  The result is the selection of a highly qualified nominee whom we believe will make an outstanding Supreme Court Justice.

We urge the Senate to promptly move forward on Judge Sotomayor’s nomination and look forward to continuing to work with President Obama on this and future judicial nominations to ensure that our nation’s courts fulfill their mission of ensuring equal justice under the law to all.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) has released a resource guide for African Americans on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The guide focuses on key provisions within the Act related to economic development, education, and health that offer critical assistance and economic opportunities to the African-American community. In addition, the guide provides information about how funding streams will be distributed to help revitalize local communities across the U.S. Click here for a PDF version of the resource guide.

A local newspaper recently published an article detailing the United Way of Greater Stark County’s funding for local agencies – including the elimination of funding for the Urban League in the current funding cycle. The Greater Stark County Urban League (GSCUL) and the United Way of Greater Stark County offices received numerous inquiries from concerned Stark County residents wondering why the Urban League’s funding was eliminated. Some of these inquiries questioned whether racial basis played a factor in the United Way’s decision. The GSCUL Board of Directors and Vince Watts wish to dispel this perception of racial bias by the United Way as completely unfounded and without merit.

United Way of Greater Stark County has been a partner since GSCUL’s formation in 2006. United Way was instrumental in assisting the Canton and Massillon Urban League affiliates with the evaluation process which ultimately led to the merger of the two affiliates and the creation of GSCUL. We continue to work closely with both the United Way and the National Urban League during our restructuring phase.

As part of the planned restructuring, one of the two United Way funded programs was mutually agreed to transition to another United Way agency whose mission better fit the program’s focus. The second funded program did not meet required program objectives and outcomes and funding was ended. In both cases, the decisions were reached with the full knowledge of, and input from, the GSCUL board of directors.

We wish to thank our Urban League members and the Stark County community for their outpouring of support. We would also like to thank the United Way of Greater Stark County for their continued support and look forward to future opportunities to jointly meet the needs of our communities.

RealtyTrac recently reported Canton-Massillon was 44th among 200 Ohio metro areas, with one of every 118 homes in some stage of foreclosure. (RealtyTrac, located in Irvine CA, compiles and sells foreclosure data). Among other Ohio metro areas on the list – Cleveland ranked 55th and Akron ranked 72nd.

When completing the Urban League membership application, some members exclude their email address – perhaps thinking it unimportant. The email address is important and provides a way for the Urban League to keep members informed at a lower cost. Emailing is significantly less expensive than hard copy printing, compiling and postage. We are in the process of updating member records and may be contacting members to update missing information. Not a member yet?