Welcome to the inaugural publication of our newsletter, the Quarterly. Now seems like a good time to make it official for already it has been a year like no other. 2025 marks the 104th year the Los Angeles Urban League has been in operation. Our accomplishments so far epitomize the power of our mission. We find opportunity in every challenge. As a Civil Rights organization we know there is no road that leads to progress without encountering some form of resistance.

So, as CEO and President Cynthia Mitchell-Heard embarks on her second year at the helm, the Los Angeles Urban League stays poised, ready to deliver as always on its promise of impact, helping African Americans and all others in underserved communities achieve their highest true social parity.

Here’s the latest, what’s ahead!

The title speaks for itself. Any annual event that’s lasted fifty years, carries with it a tenure of success, but wait till you see what’s in store this year. Sponsorship seating packages are available now, as June 11th is less than two months away. With your support we will make this event unforgettable.

This year’s celebration carries with it historical significance. Whitney M. Young, Jr. was the transformational Executive Director of the National Urban League from 1961 until his untimely death in 1971. We’ve spoken to his family members about the night’s importance and various themes we’ll implement into the show. It promises to be a spectacular evening.

BeBe Winans, October London and Doug E. Fresh will fill the house with musical entertainment. We’ll honor four distinguished Angelenos who’ve stamped an indelible mark on our community: Groundbreaking attorney George Fatheree, III, the versatile actress Jenifer Lewis, innovative entrepreneur Nicole Harper Rawlins and Lakers legend “Stormin” Norm Nixon. KJLH’s Adai Lamar and KTLA’s Chris Schauble will preside as co-emcees. This is a night out you won’t want to miss!

It kicks off with a special tribute to first responders who risked their lives saving others during January’s wildfires.

To explore sponsorship and seating packages contact:
[email protected]

or call 323.621.5306

Your sponsorship of events like above, fuels our purpose within our PROGRAMS action pillars of Advocacy, Education, Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development. With the initiation of an additional strategy pillar, connected to the Eaton Wildfire—our first 90 days of 2025 have been quite industrious and productive on the PROGRAMS front. Here’s a short list of achievements and accomplishments.

• We’ve become an essential resource hub for entrepreneurs and small businesses impacted by the fires; assistance in emergency loan referrals, job loss assistance and grants.
• We convened with nearly 400 students at February’s annual LA Black College Expo at SoFi Stadium, providing them with resources to scholarships, internships, seminars, entrepreneur workshops and wellness opportunities. Our messaging and partnership designation was sent out to 70-thousand subscribers in an email blast to learners, educators, student-athletes and community leaders.
• We launched the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant programs slate. This funding enhances our ongoing efforts to workforce development for transitional-aged youth.
• We conducted two-sessions each of programming for our triad of Intuit IDEAS cohorts in LA, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Credit Management and Access to Capital headlined these virtual meetups.
• Graduation ceremonies for our very first LA Intuit IDEAS cohort took place in February at where else, the Intuit Dome, where the grads were honored prior to tipoff of the Clippers game.
• Our PROGRAMS team conducted a blockbuster Black History Month event sponsored by Spectrum and hosted by Chase Bank, which featured previous Entrepreneurship cohort members. Spectrum handed out a $5K grant to one deserving business owner, and the packed house was treated to three enlightening business panels on “Growth and Resilience.”
• In March we facilitated in-person meetings for all three of our active Intuit IDEAS cohorts in LA, Philly and ATL. Our young entrepreneurs learned the proper techniques of Pitching for Capital and Sales.
• March also brought on the launch to cohort #4 of our Minority Business Development Agency programming for business owners. This collaboration develops entrepreneurs in two specific areas, the Food & Beverage and the Creative Media sectors of work.

Numerous more initiatives were carried out in our Project Ready, Biz Institute, Backstage Careers, Healthcare Careers, Construction Career Academy and LA Navigate Together—Los Angeles Urban League Programming. Read all about it here at our PROGRAMS page.

Impact: Throughout the first 90 days of 2025, our PROGRAMS cohorts, initiatives and endeavors have directly benefitted more than 1400 entrepreneurs, students, job seekers and grantees through direct interaction and engagement. That’s not to mention the thousands more who’ve received our programming updates, notifications and outreach. And now this! There’s more.

Gil Cargill, one of the nation’s foremost experts on the ‘Art of Selling’ is hosting a 4-part series of virtual seminars on the Art and Science of Selling. The first session, “Sales 101,” which takes place next week will prove essential for anyone who’s pitching a product, service or idea. A chance to learn from one of the industry’s best business minds, our own Gil Cargill in conjunction with our Entrepreneurship Center. 

Sign up for webinar #1 now.

Cynthia Mitchell-Heard launched into 2025 at the same pace she closed out the last year. The Los Angeles Sentinel named her appointment to CEO & President of the Los Angeles Urban League, as one of the “Top 10 News Stories” of 2024. Cynthia stays on the move, committed to social justice and economic empowerment, the pursuits that define the Los Angeles Urban League’s mission.

On any given day work takes her from the LAUL office on Crenshaw to the far outskirts of Greater Los Angeles; advocating for LA’s underserved communities, initiating new partnerships for the organization’s Entrepreneurship Center or meeting with educators who share the Urban League’s commitment to investing into LA’s young learners. Then sometimes it’s a dash up to Altadena, part of the Los Angeles Urban League’s, long-term ‘Recovery and Rebuild’ efforts for survivors of the Eaton Fire.

Here below is a pictorial look at some of the numerous events–where Cynthia has spoken on panels, initiated new alliances, met with elected officials or sometimes just ordinary people–bringing a smile into their lives and generating impact for the Los Angeles Urban League along the way.

1) Being honored prior to the Lakers game by Comerica Bank 2) Pres. & CEO Mitchell-Heard speaks  at a Workforce Development symposium 3) Pictured at Cal State Dominguez Hills prior to speaking about Black Serving Institutions 4) Meeting up with Congresswoman Judy Chu in Altadena, who represents CA’s 28th District

1) Receiving an honor from KJLH-FM, with others, after an interview with host Adai Lamar 2) Pres. & CEO Mitchell-Heard speaks at St. Mark’s Episcopal School’s reopening, following its temporary shutdown after the Eaton Fire 3) Speaking to a prominent delegation of SoCal bankers about the Altadena recovery and rebuild 4) From L-R: a) Elliot Hinds, LAUL Chair: Board of Directors b) Pres. & CEO Mitchell-Heard c) LA Mayor Karen Bass d) NUL Pres. & CEO Marc Morial e) Keith Drake, LAUL Vice Chair: Board of Directors–at March event in Century City

Important days to mark on your calendar

June 1, 2025

Harlem Renaissance Glitz, Glamour and Groove

[LEARN MORE]

June 11, 2025
Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards & Celebration at Skirball Cultural Center
[LEARN MORE]

June 16, 2025

Summer Biz Camp Launch

[LEARN MORE]

July 28, 2025
Los Angeles Urban League Celebrity Golf Classic at Calabasas Country Club
[LEARN MORE]

October 2025
State of Black Los Angeles 2025: Specific date TBD

We’ve turned the page on February, the annual month set aside to pay tribute celebrating Black history makers and their achievements. That doesn’t mean, however, the learning should stop. That’s why we always leave the light on at our LAUL Black History page. Catch up on what you don’t know about Angelenos and others, who’ve made history and how you interface with their accomplishments in your every day lives. For example…Did you know your cell phone originated from the technical drawings originally sketched by the son of a slave?

Catastrophic wildfires ushered in the new year in ways Southern California had never seen before, thrusting the Los Angeles Urban League into disaster relief response mode. We were ‘called’ to Altadena because the Eaton Fire wiped out neighborhoods of Black and Brown communities. Some of the homes burnt down had stood with families for more than four generations.

Our objective is to ensure no neighborhood is forgotten or dismissed in the delivery of timely relief services and assistance. Communities of color have often received the short end of the stick from relief agencies when disaster strikes, but this organization is determined not to let that happen this time.

Within 72 hours of the Eaton Fire breaking out, the Los Angeles Urban League had mobilized helping set up relief centers in Altadena and Pasadena. We put the word out of how people could help, organized delivery of relief supplies, computers, financial assistance and helped survivors navigate the maze of filling out forms to begin the process of painfully getting on with their lives.

During February our national president Marc Morial surveyed the destruction as we, in conjunction with the National Urban League convened a special 2-day summit on the Altadena rebuild.

Today more than 100 days removed—our efforts have now taken on the structure of, RECOVERY and REBUILD. That means a long-term commitment to the area which will take several years to be restored, and we’re formulating what our action plan will look like.

All the money we raise through our SoCal Equity Fund will be invested back into the community of survivors. We acknowledge that reporters and various media associations found us working in the community but the undivided attention and singular focus must always remain on those adversely impacted by the fires, along with the first responders who risked their own safety on the front lines. This video and the pictures above illustrate our commitment to the long-term rebuild of Altadena.