The Birmingham Urban League was incorporated on January 18, 1967 by influential African-American business and civic leaders--Philander D. Butler, John J. Drew, A.G. Gaston, Emory O. Jackson, Jesse J. Lewis, Harold D. Long, Joseph E. Lowery, Samuel O^Neal, Lucius H. Pitts, James O. Prewitt, Clarence L. Price, Amos Ryce, II, Arthur D. Shores, E. W. Taggart and James L. Ware. 

The Birmingham Urban League was established at a time of civil unrest with the aim of encouraging, assisting and engaging in activities that would lead toward the improvement of conditions among underprivileged persons and families in metropolitan Birmingham.  The League sought to discover and address unmet needs in education, employment, housing and health care and to develop and implement programs to meet these needs.  The organization also sought to promote the improvement of interracial understanding and cooperation and to employ the techniques of effective community organization in the discovery, the correction and prevention of conditions out of which racial tension, poverty and disorder arise.

Today, the League advances its mission through the delivery of program services that empower all racial and ethnic groups to seize opportunities in the key areas that affect economic stability:  Education, Housing, Workforce Development and Youth Services. The Birmingham Urban League is an affiliate of the National Urban League and has been a United Way of Central Alabama Partner since 1972. 

Click here to learn more about the National Urban League.

Click here to learn more about United Way of Central Alabama.