Black History Month Spotlight: Chicago Urban League 

To celebrate Black History Month, the Trust will be spotlighting Black leaders and Black-serving organizations that have contributed to the betterment of the Chicago region – past and present. Check back throughout the month for more profiles.  

The Chicago Urban League is one of the country’s oldest and largest community-based movements dedicated to the economic advancement of Black Americans. One of the first affiliates of the National Urban League, it was founded in 1916 by a group of sociologists, social workers, and philanthropists to address the needs of Chicago’s growing Black population during the Great Migration. Its current mission is to work towards achieving equity for Black families and communities through social and economic empowerment. 

Today, Chicago Urban League offers five program areas: entrepreneurship, housing and financial security, leadership development, youth and family services, and workforce development. The organization also runs a Research & Policy Center to advance educational and legislative efforts that address discriminatory policies and practices, as well as uplift Black families and communities.  

As a co-leader of the Payday Lending Coalition, Chicago Urban League and other advocacy groups work to reform predatory lending practices that disproportionately harm communities of color, stripping them of wealth. In 2021, the coalition saw a major victory when the Illinois legislature passed the Predatory Loan Prevention Act, capping interest rates on auto, title, and small installment loans at 36 percent. Chicago Urban League is also involved with coalitions that played instrumental roles in the expansion of Illinois’ earned income credit and the passage of legislation that provides eligible children seed funding into a Bright Start 529 college savings account. 

The Trust has been a Chicago Urban League supporter since the beginning. In October 1917, it gave the organization a grant of $350 (the equivalent to $8,002 today), which was also one of the first 20 grants the Trust ever made. More recently, the Trust has supported the organization’s participation in policy and advocacy coalitions through the Coalitions for Equity in Wealth Policy grant program.