Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Administrative History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1910 | Founded as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes following the merger of three predecessor organizations: the Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes; the National League for the Protection of Colored Women; and the Committee for Improving the Industrial Conditions of Negroes in New York |
| 1910-1913 | Established affiliated organizations in Philadelphia, Pa.; St. Louis, Mo.; Nashville, Tenn.; Baltimore, Md.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Louisville, Ky. |
| 1910-1916 | George Edmund Haynes served as chief executive |
| 1911 | Initiated social work training program, "Urban League Fellows" |
| 1916-1941 | Eugene Kinckle Jones served as chief executive |
| 1919 | Established a southern field office in Atlanta, Ga., headed by Jesse O. Thomas |
| 1921 | Established the Department of Research and Investigation |
| 1922 | Founded its official publication, Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life |
| 1930-1940 | Studied and reported on the effects of the Depression on blacks and worked to secure for Negroes adequate relief and a proportionate share of jobs on public works projects |
| 1935 | Celebrated twenty-fifth anniversary; comprised forty-three affiliates with a total national and local budget of over $400,000 |
| 1940-1945 | Surveyed the Negro's relationship to the United States defense effort and attempted to secure fair treatment in jobs and housing |
| 1941-1961 | Lester B. Granger served as executive director |
| 1952 | Established a western field office in Los Angeles, Calif., headed by W. Miller Barbour |
| 1960 | Celebrated fiftieth anniversary; comprised sixty-three affiliates with a total national and local budget of $3 million |
| 1961-1971 | Whitney M. Young served as executive director |
| 1962 | Established the Washington Bureau, Washington, D.C. |
| 1963 | Proposed a domestic Marshall Plan Established a National Skills Bank |
| 1965 | Founded the National Committee on Household Employment |
| 1966 | Began a labor education advancement program |
| 1967 | Established the Military and Veterans Affairs Division |
| 1968 | Undertook the New Thrust initiative to build the internal strength and power of the black ghetto Began family planning project |
| 1969 | Established a black executives exchange program Moved the Research Department from New York, N.Y., to Washington, D.C. |
| 1970 | Incorporated the National Urban League Development Foundation Established a school and industry project |
| 1971 | Harold R. Sims served as acting executive director Began a street academy program |
| 1972 | Began a citizenship education program |
| 1972-1981 | Vernon E. Jordan served as executive director |
| 1973 | Established the Central Planning Unit Began a law enforcement minority manpower project |
| 1974 | Dissolved the National Urban League Development Foundation |
| 1975 | Established the Management Training and Development Center Founded the Minority Aged Services Training Institute Moved the Midwestern Regional Office from St. Louis, Mo., to Chicago, Ill., and changed its name to the Central Regional Office Moved the national headquarters in New York, N.Y., from 55 East 52nd Street to the Building for Equal Opportunity at 500 East 62nd Street |
| 1976 | Issued the first State of Black America report |
| 1977 | Established a household employment project as a joint project with the National Committee on Household Employment Changed the executive director title to president and that of president to chairman of the board Created a northeast corridor minority employment program |
| 1978 | Opened Gallery 62 in the lobby of the Building for Equal Opportunity, New York, N.Y. Received major reorganization recommendation in a management study by Booz, Allen & Hamilton Established the Child Abuse and Neglect Resource Center |
| 1979 | Conducted the "Black Pulse," a national survey of black households Appointed John E. Jacob to the newly-created executive vice president position Consolidated the Research Department and Washington Bureau in a single unit called Washington Operations Established the National Planning and Evaluation Unit Abolished the Economic Development and Community Development departments and realigned all programs into "clusters" Created the Energy and Urban Environment Division Established the National Black Adoption Resource and Advocacy Center |
| 1981-1994 | John E. Jacob served as president |