Opening ReMARCs - Hush The Noise, Ye Men Of Strife, And Hear The Angels Sing

December 24, 2015	View e-mail online.

THIS ISSUE

• ReMARCs • In The News • Poll • To Be Equal • Program Spotlight • Washington Bureau • Affiliates

Christmas. Saturnalia. Yule. Dongzhi.

Regardless of religious belief or cultural identity, people around the world have celebrated the winter solstice as far back as neotlithic times. While scholars disagree on the actual birth date of the historical Jesus, it’s likely Dec. 25 emerged as the celebration of His birth because of the long-standing observation of the solstice as sacred event.

Feasting was common, as livestock were slaughtered before the winter set in and wine and beer made during the year were fermented and ready for drinking. Because the sun reverses its declining presence and begins to grow again, the solstice was seen as a symbol of rebirth, and the most natural time to celebrate the dawning of a New Year.

Perhaps there’s something about the stillness of night, the stand-still quality of that moment when the sun begins to reverse course, that allows us to contemplate the sanctity of our lives and makes us long for peace.

That longing is captured in the seldom-sung third stanza of the Christmas carol, “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear:”

To Be Equal

"Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won."

– James Weldon Johnson, “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing.”

What Will 2016 Bring for Economic and Political Opportunity and Social Justice?
The 2016 Presidential election still is more than 10 months off, but already it promises to serve as a referendum on social justice and racial reconciliation, in a year when national attitudes are changing faster than ever – and not always for the better.

Pending U.S. Supreme Court decisions and legislation before Congress 2016 will profoundly impact racial consideration in college admissions, voting rights, collective bargaining and criminal justice reform.

The Court’s decision on Fisher v. University of Texas, brought by a white woman who claimed she was denied admission to UT because of her race, could put an end to efforts by educational institutions to ensure diversity among their student bodies. The Constitutional principal of “one person, one vote,” established in 1964 in Reynolds v. Simms could be undercut by the Court’s decision on Evenwel v. Abbot. In Reynolds, the Court determined that legislative districts, both state and federal, must contain roughly equal numbers of people, guaranteeing fair representation. The plaintiff in Evenwel claims that “one person, one vote” refers only to the total voting population. That would mean that urban districts, which contain more children, immigrants and other disenfranchised persons, would be dramatically under-represented while suburban and rural populations would be grossly over-represented.

The rights of public-sector unions are at risk in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. Under current law, unions may collect dues from non-members for collective bargaining but not political activity. Friedrichs argues that even collective bargaining activities, from which non-members benefit, are political so non-members shouldn’t have to contribute. Public-sector unions have been a driving force in bringing African-American workers into the middle class; Friedrich could turn back the clock on that progress.

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE's TOP 5 MOMENTS OF 2015

Top 5 Tweets

#DanielHoltzclaw

#MalcolmX

@BernieSanders

#Juneteenth

@JohnLegend & @Common at the #Ocars2015

Top 5 Facebook Post

Class of 2015

MLK's Birthday

Rosa Parks

Loretta Lynch

Black History Month - Black Wall Street

Top 5 Campaigns

#SaveOurCities The National Urban League's collective theme for 2015 is #SaveOurCities, which encompasses four main goals (jobs, education, health, and housing) as well as justice to truly uplift vulnerable communities.

#OneNationOneFlag Sparked by efforts in South Carolina, we launched a campaign to influence political leaders across the country to abandon the display of the Confederate flag in public spaces.

#RedNoseDay Proud to have been 1 of 12 charities and organizations selected to participate in the first Red Nose Day USA, we galvanized our affiliates and Movement supporters to help raise $21 million.

#BlackHistoryMonth We teamed up with Black Enterprise to highlight and celebrate the legacy of Black business pioneers and entrepreneurs all throughout the month of February.

#HelpWanted On Giving Tuesday, we launched #HelpWanted to elevate our commitment to preparing young people for college, work, and life.

Top 5 Special Guests

Raheem DeVaughn Grammy-nominated artist Raheem DeVaughn got our guests on their feet and singing along with his classic tunes at this year's Equal Opportunity Dinner in New York City.

Hillary Clinton/Bernie Sanders/Jeb Bush/Ben Carson/Martin O'Malley We hosted five presidential hopefuls at the National Urban League Conference in Fort Lauderdale, giving them an opportunity to outline how they plan to #SaveOurCities.

Martese Johnson The UVA college student participated in our special town hall on saving our sons and daughters from inequities and racial injustice, speaking to his personal experience with police violence.

MC Lyte The hip-hop legend contributed her insights to critical discussions at this year's Annual Conference and took guests a few decades back as the DJ at the Urban League Live flashback party.

Benjamin Crump, Esq. As an important voice in the fight for racial justice, we invited Ben Crump to Annual Conference to engage in conversation about the nation's legal shortcomings and ways to keep pushing forward.

Top Events of the Year

2015 State of Black America Report Launch Event The annual D.C. event was attended by SOBA book authors, web series panelists, political dignitaries, as well as a packed house of general attendees.

Essence Festival National Urban League hosted Career Connections at Essence Festival featuring networking, career coaching, and opportunities to meet panel of famed business men/women and celebrities.

National Urban League Conference This year's Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, drew thousands of young professionals, leaders, and policymakers to identify social and economic problems and solutions to #SaveOurCities.

RISE NOLA Conference To mark 10 years since Hurricane Katrina brought devastation to New Orleans, we partnered with the Urban League of Greater New Orleans for a multi-day commemorative conference that assessed progress and ongoing struggles.

Higher Education Summit We joined forces with USA Funds for a two-day conversation in Washington, D.C. between government, education, business leaders to address college and career success for students of color.

PLEASE DONATE NOW

Give the Gift of Quality Housing

Help ensure Americans like Pearl are on a path to lifelong success.

Our Housing and Community Development programs expand homeownership opportunities, which in turn strengthen families, neighborhoods, and cities by giving residents a stake in the welfare of their communities.

Pearl, a single mom in South Carolina, is a primary example. Sick and unable to work, she watched and worried as medical bills piled up and foreclosure warnings arrived. “I was devastated,” Pearl recalls. “I felt hopeless.”

Her local Urban League affiliate helped her negotiate a new payment plan with her bank so she could keep her house. “In the long run, it gave me energy to get up and go out and do what I needed to do to make sure I kept my home.”

For many people, homeownership brings a sense of security and satisfaction. With programs in financial literacy, housing counseling, and foreclosure prevention, we’ve helped thousands of people purchase, move into, and keep their own homes.
Let’s empower more people like Pearl. I invite you to help drive meaningful and lasting change by contributing a small amount today. Can you chip in just $20?Any amount you choose to give helps the National Urban League accelerate its targeted efforts to empower underserved Americans with economic self-reliance, parity, power, and civil rights.

Let your community know just how much you care this holiday season.

Her Path to Success Begins Today

Your gift provides the tools for her to overcome economic challenges and realize her dreams.

Washington Bureau Director Reflects on His New Role and Looks Ahead to 2016

As 2015 nears end, and the 2016 plans are being developed by the National Urban League team, this seems like an appropriate time to reflect on 2015 and highlight some of our plans for 2016. I began my journey in the Urban League Movement on July 28th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the Save Our Cities Annual Conference. Beginning a new job during a national event has both positive and negative aspects, but the positives certainly outweigh the negatives. Although I didn’t know many people and couldn’t be of much help on my first day of work, the Annual Conference was a great opportunity to meet my new Urban League family and to see the Movement in action.

National Urban League and Tyson Foods Inc. Partner To Combat Food Insecurity

Approximately 49 million people in the United States live in food-insecure households, with nearly 16 million of them being children. In other words, 14 percent American households faced difficulty in providing food for their members at some point during the year. The National Urban League and Tyson Foods, Inc., selected Nashville as a case study site for research into food insecurity in urban America. The resulting report, The Impact of Hunger and Poverty on the Health of Communities, shows an astonishing 70% of households in Davidson County qualify for federal nutrition programs. More than 22 % of Davidson County’s children – 30,000 are affected by food insecurity.