Not long after the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts opened its doors, lynchings were sweeping across the South, race riots were exploding in cities across the land and African American veterans of World War I were finding doors to employment closed in their faces.
The Bay State branch of the national economic and civil rights advocacy group acted to counter the challenges, urging the Massachusetts delegation in Congress to support federal anti-lynching laws while firmly pushing open the door of hiring opportunities for black men and women throughout Greater Boston.
The tone of the post-World War I era was set by President Woodrow Wilson, who said of the returning vets, “Black American soldiers were being treated as equals by the French and it has gone to their heads.”
Compounding the tensions in 1919 were a faltering economy and widening fears of anarchy triggered by bombings targeting public figures, including the Washington home of U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Enlisting the aid of a young J. Edgar Hoover, Palmer sought to root out the “Red Menace” of communist extremism, which he feared would mobilize African Americans against the white establishment.
The targeting of black communities as hotbeds of radicalism during the “Red Summer” of 1919 fueled resentment among working class whites. In the South, “Strange Fruit” blossomed from hanging trees. And in the North, roving gangs attacked African American neighborhoods already roiled by police violence.
But black soldiers who had survived trench warfare in the fields of France and Flanders would not accept second-class citizenry or unruly white mobs without a fight. In cities like Washington, D.C., and Chicago, African Americans stood up to vigilantes emboldened by liquor and hate.
“By the God of Heaven, we are cowards and jackasses if now that the war is over, we do not marshal every ounce of our brain and brawn to fight a sterner, longer and more unbending battle against the forces of hell in our own land,” wrote W.E.B. DuBois in the NAACP’s “The Crisis” magazine in 1919.
More than a century later, the oldest local branch of the Urban League finds itself still facing the unending battle, with police abuse replacing nooses and night riders as the most violent threats to people of color. Rising unemployment and shuttered businesses, caused by the coronavirus pandemic, complicates the challenge.
Joseph D. Feaster Jr., chairman of the ULEM board, said the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis has spurred his branch to redouble its efforts to combat social and economic injustice.
“We have renewed energy to press for social and equal justice, dignity, respect and freedom from racist attacks for black and brown peoples,” said Feaster.
At the same time, “The pandemic has required us to focus even more on workforce development and helping small businesses. We know Main Streets in black communities are going to have tumbleweeds rolling down the sidewalks,” added Feaster, an attorney and former Boston NAACP president, who has served as ULEM chairman the last three years and a board member since 2015.
In its third annual Equal Opportunity and Diversity Awards Breakfast, held by videoconference just before the Floyd murder, Urban League leaders and supporters gathered to discuss the group’s ongoing efforts to broaden its partnerships and increase its reach into communities in need during the pandemic.
Black Economic Council of Massachusetts were reporting negative impacts of the coronavirus
As early as March, 90% of black-owned businesses surveyed by the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts were reporting negative impacts of the coronavirus. Nationally, the number of working African American business owners dropped by more than 40% due to the virus, according to a report released in late May.
The study came as other reports showed the crisis killing non-white Americans at higher rates and eliminating more of their jobs, according to the Washington Post.
“It’s the same old story,” said Feaster. “When the broader economy catches a cold, we catch a flu. Except this time, it’s much worse.”
Keith Motley, former chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston and the acting president and chief operating officer of the local league branch, said a revived and reinvigorated Urban League is essential to addressing the current crisis.
“We stand on the shoulders of giants,” he said. “We have a long and proud history and we’re going to continue the legacy of standing up for our community.”
The Boston branch, formed seven years after the launch of the national organization in 1910, currently runs programs in workforce development, employment assistance and domestic violence prevention on a $1.6 million annual budget and with a 10-member staff out of its Warren Street headquarters in Roxbury. The group also operates the ULEM Guild and its Young Professional Network.
In recent years, the league has expanded its network of corporate support to include the Boston Red Sox, TJX, Liberty Mutual Insurance and Southwest Airlines. Sam Kennedy, president of the Red Sox, received the Urban League Chairman’s Award during the diversity breakfast.
Honors also went to state Rep. Chynah Tyler, Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty and Carney Hospital President Tom Sands, who received the Mel King Community Leadership Award; to Gordon Thompson, founder of the global medical supplies company Westnet, who received the George A. Russell Jr. Business Leadership Award; and Boston City Council President Kim Janey, Boston NAACP Branch President Tanisha Sullivan and Nia Grace, executive director of the Boston Black Hospitality Coalition, recipients of the Joan Wallace-Benjamin Leadership Award.
The breakfast also provided a platform for fundraising, with close to $200,000 added to its coffers through Motley’s amiable exhortations.
“Believe me,” said the persuasive former chancellor, “I have no problems asking people for money.”
While ULEM has rebounded since the departure of Darnell Williams, who left in 2019, Feaster said the current crisis will strain its resources to keep pace with demand for greater advocacy and programs.
“Just look at the Paycheck Protection Program,” he said. “We got hundreds of calls about getting access to federal money to support small businesses in the wake of the virus crisis. But by the time many applied, the money was gone, especially in the first wave, which mostly went to well-connected big corporations.”
The National Urban League will continue “to use its bully pulpit to push Congress and the White House to provide the support black businesses and small businesses everywhere need to survive,” said Feaster. “Locally, we will do all we can in our programs and advocacy to live up to our legacy of building economic opportunity as well as racial justice in the wake of the twin crises of police abuse and the pandemic.”
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