You Can Impact
My Father was the first African American to serve on the Houston City Council since Reconstruction. That means in 1970 when he was elected, no Black had served in the previous one hundred years prior to his election. What a bold and audacious concept that he could do such an amazing feat. As I reflect on this, I wonder if it had much to do about the times, and the changing of them. Pretty amazing, timing or not, but he was a person that believed in the concept of self-actualization. (becoming everything that one is capable of becoming) He’d always say to me, “make yourself a committee of one”. As I got older, I began to understand what that meant. That you need not wait until an idea that may be difficult for some made it an impossible idea for others. Of course there were those that said wait, the time was not quite right, but the time is always right to do right, no matter how difficult the challenge. Trust – The Time Is Now.
This upcoming Thursday August 13th, the National Urban League will unveil the 2020 State of Black America whereby we will mark the movement of history for African Americans and other marginalized communities over the past year. I invite you to learn more about this historic event and be prepared to tune in by visiting the
State of Black America website now to ensure you are ready to receive the latest information on our successes and our ongoing struggles to achieve equity and equality in “The State of Black America 2020 Unmasked!” Join (HAUL) Houston Area Urban League and watch!
As we prepare to read, see and hear from some of America’s most profound Civil Rights leaders and history makers let me remind you that it’s not too late to become a part of something bigger than yourself. In a sense, to make your own contribution to the advancement of the Black Community; to ensure that those who have died generations ago and those more recent at the hands of the unjust are not the last word. We must continue the fight and do whatever we can to make a difference and to create our impact on history. I have shared with you the many annual impacts of the HAUL
(Click Here: HAUL Fast Facts) we accomplish via your sponsorship. Getting jobs, securing homes, educational scholarships, emergency disaster financial resources and invaluable counseling are all possible because many found a way to give.
Just recently we received a major gift from Freeport LNG who remembered our work from years ago and rewarded our ongoing 50+ years of service to the community with a gift that will allow us to continue our work over the next several years. Or our new friends at Illinois Tool Works (ITW) that found us thru our sister Affiliate at the Chicago Urban League that had a long history of partnership for similar programs in Chicago. Thanks to the financial support and volunteers of the ITW Black Employee network, the Houston Area Urban League’s programs are strengthened to further our mission of “Empowering Communities Changing Lives”. For individuals like the ones pictured here, (pic of the nurses/technicians) they came together as a group of Co Workers (Physical Therapist) wanting to honor and continue our work by making a contribution to HAUL. They organized the “Moving to Make A Difference” campaign, creatively challenging their colleagues to contribute small donations for a good cause which ended up in a gift of over $6,000.00 to HAUL. Your small gift when working with other truly matters.
Pictured above is the group of individuals that chose to make a statement about inequality by supporting the work of the Houston Area Urban League. We can all impact history, and like my Father would always say, get out there and “make yourself a committee of one”. You just might change the history of the world!
