History of NULYP
In the nineteen eighties and nineties, several Urban League affiliates recognized the need to prepare the new generation to assume leadership of the civil rights movement. They recruited African American men and women in their 20's and 30's and invited them to take active leadership roles in local Urban League programs and activities. Young Professionals auxiliary groups began to operate under the guidance of affiliates in Detroit, MI ("The Blue Monday Network"), Chicago, IL ("The Metropolitan Board"), Philadelphia, PA ("Philadelphia Urban League Young Professionals"), and Washington, DC ("The Thursday Network").
These auxiliary groups actively supported the Urban League by recruiting new members and educating them about the movement; engaging their membership in volunteer activities like youth mentoring and tutorial programs; coordinating scholarship fund-raisers; and delivering personal and professional development and networking opportunities to young professionals in local communities.
The success of YP's auxiliary groups demonstrated both a need and an opportunity for creating a national movement of young adults who were dedicated to community empowerment and committed to personal and professional development.
In April of 1998, Hugh B. Price, then President and CEO of the National Urban League, held a historic "Young Professionals Dialogue Session" in New York City to discuss the best methods for galvanizing the skills, talents, enthusiasm and vision of young adults and engaging them in the Urban League movement. Over 200 talented and energized young professionals participated, among them representatives from existing YP auxiliaries. The "Dialogue," and a white paper submitted by Marcus Mitchell, led to the formation of a working group that was tasked with establishing the framework and foundation for the National Urban League Young Professionals.
Under the direction of Annelle Lewis, Senior Vice President of Affiliate Development and Programs, the working group convened again in New York in September of 1998. Led by Marcus Mitchell (Philadelphia, PA), the group consisted of Karla Ballard (Wilmington, DE), Toi Anderson-Bennett (New York, NY), Rhonda Utley-Herring (Trenton, NJ), Melinda Emerson (Philadelphia, PA), Vernice Black (Philadelphia, PA), Tyra Metoyer (Houston, TX), Felecia Carrington (Houston, TX), Kim Beason (Milwaukee, WI), Brian Anderson (Boston, MA), Shawn Barney (New Orleans, LA), Kevin Hooks (Los Angeles, CA), Chontell Macon (Providence, RI), Jennifer Braxton (Philadelphia, PA) and B. Michael Young (Washington, DC). Over the course of the year, the group met periodically to strategize about the foundation and structure of the proposed NULYP organization and to discuss its launch.
Nearly a year later at the National Urban League Annual Conference in July 1999 in Houston, Texas, the creation of the new National Urban League Young Professionals was announced. Marcus Mitchell, the author of the original white paper conceptualizing the organization, assumed the role of President. Under Mitchell's leadership, the organization began to define itself and to carve out its role in the Urban League movement.
Over the next year, the leadership team met regularly to refine the structure of the organization as well as to draft its first by-laws. A special election was held to fill the open positions on the newly established NULYP executive board.
In April of 2000, Mitchell was succeeded by Karla Ballard NULYP's National Programs Chair and one of the founders of the Wilmington, DE YP chapter, who was elected to serve as President until January of 2002. Under Ballard's direction, the organization sponsored its first national initiative in the Debate Watch Parties that took place in six cities across the country that year. The organization also identified three national focus areas for its work: Financial Literacy, Real World Education, and Political Participation.
To increase young adults' awareness of its existence and facilitate communication among the NULYP network, the organization established a web presence, published a national newsletter, and created the first edition of the NULYP Manual: a guide for start-up and administration of new YP chapters.
Ballard's tenure also marked the creation and launch of the "Training Ground: A Next Generation Leadership Institute," at the National Urban League's annual conference. Working closely with Drs. Celeste Watkins, Henry Louis Gates and William Julius Wilson at Harvard University's W.E.B Dubois Institute, Ballard and the NULYP leadership established a core curriculum for the Training Ground and created the opportunity for each participant to receive a certificate from the W.E.B. Dubois Institute for participation in the program. Increasingly NULYP gained national recognition as their membership participated in issues of black voter mobilization, social security and financial literacy.
With the growing clamor for Young Professionals chapters and increased recognition of YP membership's influence throughout the movement, the organization adopted its bylaws.
In January of 2002, a special election was held and Ryan Myers, Western Vice President and President of the Los Angeles YP chapter was elected president. Myers tenure marked a period of significant growth and expansion as the NULYP movement exploded, adding almost 30 new YP chapters to the organization.
NULYP's signature financial literacy program, "Know Your Money," created in partnership with Philip Morris, Inc., was also launched during this period, and implemented in eight cities - Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Washington DC.
"Know Your Money" was the organization's first, fully funded national program and enabled the National Urban League to hire a dedicated staff person to support its implementation and respond to overall administration needs of the NULYP organization.
NULYP also established its dues structure and hosted the first official Council of Presidents Meeting, during which the concept for a National Day of Service was introduced.
Further augmenting NULYP's growing influence within the Urban League movement, the Annual Conference's Training Ground - the focal gathering of the young professionals' membership - experienced strong growth and support, becoming one of the most profitable components of the National Urban League's Annual Conference.
The year 2003 marked a period of significant change in the National Urban League movement. Then President and CEO, Hugh B. Price, tendered his resignation in late 2002. Milton Little, the organization's Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, served as the interim President and CEO until the current National Urban League President and CEO, former New Orleans mayor Marc H. Morial was appointed in May of 2003. The year marked a change in NULYP's leadership, as well.
At the organization's first general election at the Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in July of 2003, B. Michael Young, NULYP's Eastern Vice President and past President of the Washington, DC YP chapter was elected President. Given the organization's rapid growth, Young and the NULYP leadership determined to focus on organizational governance as a means of increasing communication in the NULYP network, enhancing unity among all chapters and facilitating NULYP support of the Urban League movement.
The Council of Presidents began meeting bi-monthly via conference calls and yearly during the Annual Conference. The by-laws were re-written to reflect the new face and structure of the organization and were ratified at the League's 2004 Annual Conference in Detroit. To further reinforce the importance of organizational governance and uniform operating procedures the NULYP Manual was updated, Standard Operating Procedures were developed, and the organization published Civic Engagement Resources and Best Practices, as well as the YP Chapter Programs and Activities guides for reference by new and existing chapters.
Further changes included the re-launch and bi-monthly publication of Connections, the previously defunct NULYP newsletter. NULYP expanded its national programming to encompass the five components of the National Urban League's new empowerment agenda (Education and Youth Empowerment, Economic Empowerment, Health and Quality of Life Empowerment, Civic Engagement and Leadership Empowerment, Civil Rights and Racial Justice Empowerment). Concurrently the historic National Day of Service (focused on HIV/AIDS awareness and education) was implemented, signifying the first time in the organization's history where all chapters participated in a national program - with Chapters simultaneously conducting service events.
NULYP experienced a renewed sense of cohesion and unity, with a constant stream of communication from the leadership as well as among the membership.
In 2004 NULYP participated heavily in the first Legislative Policy Conference sponsored by the National Urban League, worked closely with the Urban League's new Urban Influence magazine targeted at the YP demographic, developed the NULYP Strategic Plan, and contributed to the development of NUL's strategic plan. For the 2004 Annual Conference, the "Training Ground" was expanded to include additional plenary sessions, workshops, and social activities targeted to young professionals. For the upcoming 2005 Conference, the organization has joined forces with Urban Influence Magazine and (MOBE) Marketing Opportunities for Business and Entertainment to transform the "Training Ground" into the "Influencer Summit."
Under B. Michael Young's tenure NULYP has continued to grow as almost 15 new chapters were launched in 2004.
NULYP today is a constantly evolving movement. We stand at the crossroads of change, beneficiaries of centuries of struggle, a generation of young adults who are more privileged than any before our time. Our vision for the future is powerful, our commitment to community is unwavering. The diversity, breadth and depth of our skills, talents and abilities makes us uniquely qualified to craft a new vision of the civil rights movement for our generation. We are equipped, we are committed, we are passionate. In communities across our nation, members of the National Urban League's Young Professionals are Empowering Communities and Changing Lives. Be a part of the change. Join us to create a better future for the African-American community.
