KNOXVILLE AREA URBAN LEAGUE HISTORY


The Knoxville Area Urban League, a civil rights, economic development and social service organization, was founded in l968 at the height of the Civil Rights movement to promote equal employment opportunities for African-Americans in Knoxville, Tennessee. Today, the Knoxville Area Urban League (KAUL) is a non-profit, non-partisan, interracial community-based organization, one of 105 affiliates of the National Urban League.
URBAN LEAGUE VISION
  • To be the premier non-profit organization in the Knoxville area that will work with key decision-makers to create a city where African-American and others are able to take advantage of its many opportunities of employment, education and housing.
  • To be the recognized leader in economic, social, and technological equity in the Knoxville area.
  • To promote the economic empowerment of African-Americans and others in the Greater Knoxville area.
 URBAN LEAGUE STRATEGY

The Urban League employs a five-point strategy, tailored to local needs, in order to implement the mission of our movement.

Education and Youth Empowerment:
Ensuring that all of our children are well educated and prepared for economic self-reliance in the 21st century through college scholarships, early childhood literacy and after care programs.
Economic Empowerment:
Empowering all people in attaining economic self-sufficiency through job training, good jobs, homeownership, entrepreneurship and wealth accumulation.
Health and Quality of Life Empowerment:
Working to build healthy and safe communities to eliminate health disparities through prevention, healthy eating, fitness, as well as ensuring access and complete access to affordable healthcare for all people.
Civic Engagement and Leadership Empowerment:
Empowering all people to take an active role in determining the direction, quality of life, public policy and leadership in their communities by full participation as citizens and voters, as well as through active community service and leadership development.
Civil Rights and Racial Justice Empowerment:
Promoting and ensuring our civil rights by actively working to eradicate all barriers to equal participation in the all aspects of American society, whether political, economic, social, educational or cultural.