Historical Account of the National Urban League
On January 20, 1910, Mrs. Rush Standish Baldwin, a widow of William Baldwin, a railroad magnate and a patron of education for blacks in the rural South, brought together an interracial group of New Yorkers to discuss the plight of African-Americans who had migrated to New York City seeking better opportunities.
By 1910, there were some 90,000 African-Americans living in New York, the largest concentration in any city outside the South. Most of them, unskilled and untrained, were forced to face the harsh realities of a hostile urban environment. Employment opportunities were limited, and the inner city educational, housing and recreational infrastructure for black residents was sorely lacking.
Several relatively small agencies had been established to address the needs and concerns of Southern black emigrants, but it was obvious more had to be done. At that meeting convened by Mrs. Baldwin, the idea for a new agency was planted, and it germinated until September 29, 1910, when representatives from a number of institutions and organizations, with the urging of Mrs. Baldwin, met to form the Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negros. Joining Mrs. Baldwin as a co-founder was George Edmund Hayes, a young black social scientist from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, who became the first director of the group.
The agency began life dedicated to the principle of interracial cooperation. Its first motto was, fittingly enough, 'Not Alms, But Opportunity'.
The primary objectives of the fledgling agency were described as, "first the careful study of the conditions which result from the growing concentrations of Negroes in cities, with a view to encouraging helpful cooperation between betterment agencies already in existence and the establishment of such agencies where necessary; second, the training of young men and women for social work among their own people". The budget for the first year was $4,000.
In 1911, two other agencies – the National Urban League of the Protection of Colored Women and the Committee for Improving the Industrial Conditions of Negroes in New York – merged with the Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes to form the National League of Urban Conditions Among Negroes, a name that was later shortened to the now familiar National Urban League. The mergering was a momentous occasion and, as the Afro-American Newspaper pointed out, it signaled, "a new chapter in social uplift." The reconstituted agency began life dedicated to the principle of interracial cooperation, a stance that has remained unchanged throughout the years. Fittingly enough, the first motto of the agency was "Not Alms, But Opportunity."
After five years, the National Urban League had affiliates in nine cities, 15 headquarters employees and a budget of almost $45,000. The affiliates were created because of the existence of similar problems afflicting blacks in other cities. From its humble origins, the League had developed into a national community service organization that occupied a unique place in American society. By the end of World War I, the National Urban League had 81 paid staff members in 30 cities, and a budget of $102,000.
Research has been a major thrust of the League since 1920, when Dr. Charles S. Johnson, a classic figure in black scholarship, organized the National Urban League's Research Department. Dr. Johnson produced numerous landmark studies on the black condition. In addition, he edited the magazine Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life, which became a mainstay of "the Negro Renaissance," and published almost every leading black writer and poet of the day.
Throughout the National League's history, a major goal has been to broaden economic opportunities for African-Americans. During the 1920's and 1930's, the League specifically concentrated on breaking barriers to black employment. Strategies included boycotts against forms that refused to employ blacks, pressuring schools to expand vocational opportunities for young people, and by persisting that Washington officials include blacks in New Deal recovery programs and accept them into previously segregated unions.
Jobs remained a major concern during World War II, when the Urban League strove to get blacks employment in defense plants. The League joined with A. Phillip Randolph's March on Washington movement to fight discrimination in defense work and in the armed services. Through its Industrial Relations Laboratory, the Urban League was instrumental in cracking the color bar in a number of defense plants. The war years also provided impetus to the League's Vocational Opportunity Campaigns, which were geared to the preparation of young people for meaningful employment.
After World War II, the National Urban League helped shape the post-war scene by expanding the role of black workers based on their successful experience in the defense industry.
One of its most successful moves in this area was the "Pilot Placement Program" in which blacks were placed in hitherto closed upper-echelon jobs in the industry. Their successes opened the doors for other blacks.
The post-war years also saw the formation of the League's Commerce and Industry Advisory Committee under the guidance of Winthrop Rockefeller. The committee, composed of high-ranking officers of major U.S. corporations, became the nucleus of business support for the Urban League and an important factor in increasing job opportunities for black Americans.
As the country has changed over the years, so has the National Urban League. It began with what in retrospect was a relatively simple goal: to help rural blacks make a successful transition to urban life. Over the years, the League's efforts have expanded to embrace new problems and new concerns so that it has remained youthful and relevant.
Today, while it continues to provide assistance in traditional areas of concern, the National Urban League has become a leader in a number of new areas: African-American male development, AIDS education, political empowerment, and crime reduction in the black community.
To view a video about the Austin Area Urban League's History CLICK HERE
