Technology is the axis on which the 21st century economy turns, and America’s urban centers are where that technology emerges and evolves. Economic empowerment relies on access to high-tech tools and the capacity to make the most of them.
2017
Hispanic-White Equality Index - 2017
By Valerie Rawlston Wilson, Ph. D.
Black-White Equality Index - 2017
By Valerie Rawlston Wilson, Ph. D.
Main Street Marshall Plan - 2017
It is time for the nation to treat its urban communities and cities as the jewels that they are. Our cities and urban communities are the economic drivers of the nation. They are where our great universities are situated, where our great cultural institutions exist, the center of the hopes, aspirations, and diversity of our nation. They define America to the world.
Main Street Marshall Plan
Voter Suppression Stands as a Grave Threat to Democracy
Kristen Clarke
President & Executive Director
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
As the country remains focused on the ways in which Russia interfered with the integrity of the recent 2016 election, we must not forget to focus equal attention to the ongoing threat of voter suppression. Voter suppression and ongoing voting discrimination stand as grave threats to American democracy.
The Black Diaspora Matters: Why the Black Immigrant Experience is Central to Lasting Social Change
Opal Tometi
Strategist, Writer and Community Organizer
Co-founder #BlackLivesMatter
The 21st century has ushered in vehement civic consciousness and engagement around the state of immigration and immigrant rights in the United States. Whether at the polls, on the House and Senate floors, or the studios of major news media outlets, the meaning and function of citizenship has been and will continue to be highly debated by all members of our society—from the most conservative to the most radical of perspectives.
Much is Required
Tony Allen, Ph.D.
Head of Corporate Reputation
Bank of America
Founding President
Metropolitan Wilmington
Urban League
I am a blessed Black man. Against enormous odds with respect to my family background and prospects for economic mobility, I have received great opportunities in my life. Those opportunities have afforded me a good living, a respectable profile in the public square, and a resolute passion to serve others that I have always taken very seriously. The old biblical adage, “To whom much is given, much is required” is the standard by which I have lived my life and, in my mind, should be the burning platform for every middle and upper class African American in the United States.
From the President's Desk
It is impossible to discuss the state of Black America in 2017 without addressing the shift of power and priorities in Washington. Recovery from the Great Recession has been slow, but it has been real.
Can the Energy Industry Solve Persistent African-American Unemployment?
Donald Cravins Jr.
Senior Vice President for Policy and
Executive Director of the Washington Bureau
Late last year, the National Urban League released a report entitled, “21st Century Innovations in Energy: An Equity Framework.” The report is not intended to serve as an environmental position paper, but instead is an economic and inclusion report focusing on the expansive economic opportunities in the American energy industry. It provides: 1) an overview of the domestic electricity, solar, and oil and natural gas industries; 2) current employment numbers in each sector; and 3) economic and employment opportunities in each sector.
Equality Index 
Senate Report 
2020 SOBA Essays 
2019 Report 