Urban League Twin Cities

Urban League Twin Cities Urban League Twin Cities provides direct service for nearly 6,000 people; 20,000 more look to us for public advocacy.

In the interest of public health and safety, our building is CLOSED and staff are working remotely.

Join us for an engaging Cultural Competency Workshop focused on strengthening the way we support kinship caregivers—rela...
09/11/2026

Join us for an engaging Cultural Competency Workshop focused on strengthening the way we support kinship caregivers—relatives, family friends, and other trusted adults caring for children who are not their biological children.

Participants will gain practical tools and culturally responsive strategies to better understand, engage, and support kinship families while honoring their unique experiences, strengths, culture, and family connections.

Come learn, connect, and strengthen the village that supports our children and families.

Free event - Registration required - all are welcome! REGISTER: https://conta.cc/4iIfwzN

Mandatory minimum sentences are supposed to deter crime. They don't.83% of Minnesota prosecutors interviewed by the Minn...
09/11/2026

Mandatory minimum sentences are supposed to deter crime. They don't.

83% of Minnesota prosecutors interviewed by the Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) say mandatory minimums fail at deterrence. Why? Deterrence only works if people know and consider the penalty before they act, but most people don't even know these laws exist.

Since the 1980s, mandatory drug sentences have piled up while street drug prices stayed flat (they typically go up if enforcement reduces supply) and overdose deaths climbed. Meanwhile, the real cost of mandatory minimum sentencing lands on families. Loved ones are left to wade through lost income, unstable housing, and trauma that has nothing to do with "justice" or making things right.

A Minnesota task force spent a year studying this issue and just released actionable recommendations: ditching mandatory minimums for gun possession in favor of smarter sentencing tiers, removing non-violent drug offenses from the list, and giving both prosecutors and defendants a path to waive mandatory minimums in certain cases.

Read more on this in a blog post from the MNJRC, here. https://conta.cc/4r4c6cw



Citations: (Minnesota Department of Corrections & Wilder Research, 2026; National Research Council, 2010; Osler, 2026)

In 2024 Minnesota ranked 6th in the nation for Black political engagement (McCann, 2024). But nationally, young Black vo...
09/04/2026

In 2024 Minnesota ranked 6th in the nation for Black political engagement (McCann, 2024). But nationally, young Black voter registration has dropped 10% since the last midterm (Medina & Ren, 2026).

September 18th is National Black Voter Day - the perfect chance to check your registration, register someone you love, and make a plan to bring a young voter to the polls! 🗳️

"You need to talk to any and everybody about voting...We are not a monolith but certain things apply to all of us." - Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett

Marching is important, speaking out matters, but if we don't get out and vote, none of it changes. Let's show the country what's possible and let's make sure every generation is part of it. ✊🏿

Look up your registration status, register, and find your polling location at MNVotes.org

🌟 Join our team and make a difference! Apply now info@ultcmn.org ! 📩
09/01/2026

🌟 Join our team and make a difference! Apply now [email protected] ! 📩

Dr. Kizzmekia Shanta Corbett-Helaire led the development of the Moderna vaccine at the National Institutes of Health's V...
08/28/2026

Dr. Kizzmekia Shanta Corbett-Helaire led the development of the Moderna vaccine at the National Institutes of Health's Vaccine Research Center, under NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci. While Black and Latine communities were disproportionately harmed by the COVID-19 virus, they also demonstrated greater hesitancy to receive the vaccine. To address people's concerns about safety and efficacy, Dr. Corbett-Helaire engaged directly with the public, speaking at town halls, attending online forums, and being interviewed by Black local and national radio stations. Her efforts as a Black scientist demonstrate how powerful a credible, trustworthy messenger can be in supporting public health (Edje, 2021).

You are not alone. Join us this Saturday August 29 at Urban League Twin Cities for our kinship care healing circle. Reg...
08/24/2026

You are not alone. Join us this Saturday August 29 at Urban League Twin Cities for our kinship care healing circle. Registration FREE but REQUIRED: https://conta.cc/4wrBSso

As of 2024, over 643,332 Minnesotans faced high housing costs, including the risk of having to give up basic necessities...
08/21/2026

As of 2024, over 643,332 Minnesotans faced high housing costs, including the risk of having to give up basic necessities like food or medicine to keep a roof over their head (Minnesota Housing Partnership, 2026). These burdens also impact some Minnesotans more harshly than others. Only 28% of Black Minnesotans are homeowners. Of Black renters, nearly 60% spend more than 30% of their income on housing (Minnesota Housing Partnership, 2026). Black households are more likely to face significant cost burdens as well, with nearly 30% spending over 50% of their income to keep a roof over their head (Minnesota Housing Partnership, 2023). These rates are unacceptable, leaving many families to struggle just to meet their basic needs. With the recent crisis at Heritage Park in Minneapolis, we need to ensure those facing the most intense costs for housing are able to have livable spaces.

Minnesota just made history with over 1.1 million people who voted in this week's primary. This is the highest turnout e...
08/14/2026

Minnesota just made history with over 1.1 million people who voted in this week's primary. This is the highest turnout ever recorded for the state, breaking the record from 2018 (Griffith, 2026).
But voter turnout isn't equal. In recent elections, White Minnesotans have voted around 13 percentage points higher than Black, Asian, and Hispanic Minnesotans (Chmielewski, 2020). This is a widening gap nationally as courts hollow out the Voting Rights Act, like with the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais just this year.

Record turnout is worth celebrating. It shows what's possible and we still have a long way to go to make sure everyone can vote.

Due to the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act", passed in 2025, $187 billion in funding was taken away from SNAP across the ne...
08/07/2026

Due to the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act", passed in 2025, $187 billion in funding was taken away from SNAP across the next decade. Eligibility requirements and documentation requirements were also changed, leading to over 4 million people losing access to this vital service in the last year (Kim, 2026; Porter Gore, 2026). Black recipients face disproportionate impacts of these changes, as they make 25.7% of all SNAP recipients (roughly 10.2 million people) despite being 13.7% of the population (Census Bureau, 2023).

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