Urban League of Portland

The Urban League of Portland would like to reflect on the powerful insights shared by Christopher Lambert, Intensive Case Manager at Going Home II, as he discussed during our monthly staff Lunch and Learn the transition from incarceration into a returning citizen of society. His dedication to community work is truly inspiring. #UrbanLeagueofPortland

The Urban League of Portland's Arleta Christian and Kashea Kilson-Anderson from our Health and Older Adult Services presented ways that we can conquer cancer. Join us in congratulating them on giving a dynamic presentation on a critical topic for our community.

Join us for our latest Meet the Employers virtual event, on Wednesday, October 16th from 9-10 AM!  Explore the Portland Fire company experience: learn about our vibrant company culture, work-life balance, amazing benefits, and fantastic career opportunities. Register at ulpdx.org.

Our Long Term Housing Senior Program Managers Leor Beverly & Marqueesha Ollison presented at the Housing Oregon Conference last week! They presented Inside Looking out Outside Looking in The Lived Experience Lens. #UrbanLeagueofPortland

Join us tonight to talk with Tobias Read candidate for Secretary of State and State Senator Dennis Linthicum in the first of our Meet the Candidate forums for the general election from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. Watch live on Facebook or YouTube! Click here for more information: https://lnkd.in/gUihkFpC

The Urban League of Portland’s 2024 Equal Opportunity Day Awards Dinner is just around the corner. Thursday, October 3, at the Portland Art Museum, we will honor local artists through our theme Art is a Movement. For generations, art has been a powerful tool to shed light on untold stories and connect us with community. Our EOD celebration will highlight trailblazing artists who have used self-expression and art as a catalyst for social change.     We will be joined by amazing artists, including the Urban League’s own board member Kelly Sue Deconnick. Kelly Sue is a Comic, Stage & TV Writer for projects including Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman Historia, Bitch Planet, and Pretty Deadly.   Can’t make it? You can still show your support by donating. Those who give $100 or more will be entered in a drawing to win signed art from Kelly Sue! Visit our donation page to today. Make sure to include “2024 EOD” in the contribution note box. Your support is greatly appreciated and will help us continue to Empower Communities and Change Lives.   For more information visit ulpdx.org or email us at [email protected]

This beautiful note acknowledging the impactful work of Kyaira Flentory a Program Specialist for Workforce Development at the Urban League of Portland -

A note from our President & CEO Nkenge Harmon Johnson: “This year at the Pendleton Round-Up, ULPDX organized community conversations focusing on the ties that bind us together as Oregonians and Westerners, regardless of whether we live in rural or urban areas, or what our skin color might be.  We invited Black cowboys from Texas and California, Black Oregonians from Portland and elsewhere, and Urban League staff to the rodeo. We gave them iPhones, a couple of point-and-shoot cameras, and told them to document their time at the Pendleton Round-Up. The point is to protect our Pendleton story while making new history. The photo gallery you see is their creation.   It's sometimes hard for people to grasp why I take the Urban League to Round-Up. When I first started organizing what is now our annual trip, skepticism abounded. Some people did not understand that Black families have lived in Pendleton since the town was founded. Of course, Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Indian tribes have called the community home for far longer. One man I invited had been unhoused. He told me Pendleton seemed scarier than sleeping on the streets. A staff member once told me her mom urged her to quit the Urban League because I asked her to go to cowboy country for the weekend. Her mom was afraid of what might happen to a Black woman in some of our most rural communities. (Even this year people questioned how welcomed our group would be when the Country Music Awards did not even bother to nominate Beyonce’s chart-topping Cowboy Carter.)   But as an Oregon-made, country loving, cowgirl boot wearing Black woman, I know coming to Pendleton to reclaim and further our history is an act of love, joy, and power for our people. With willing friends, we will create the unity and diversity we want to see. And just like the Black cowboys who stick to the timed events, we will not be judged by anyone for claiming our rightful place in history.”

Urban League of Portland is a proud participant of the Eastern Oregon Women’s Coalition 10th annual Governor’s Luncheon. This luncheon during the Pendleton Round-Up is a great place to take our message of an Oregon for All to elected officials and business leaders. Our President and CEO Nkenge Harmon Johnson met with elected officials including former Governor Kate Brown as we continue to serve all of Oregon and help bridge the rural-urban divide. #ORforAll #UrbanLeagueofPortland

The Urban League of Portland staff are heading to the Pendelton Round-Up! We are very excited and loading up to head out. #UrbanLeagueofPortland