By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
For nearly a century, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle has stood as one of the region’s most enduring champions for Black families, evolving alongside the community it serves while expanding access to education, employment, housing and economic opportunity.
Now, as the organization celebrates its 95th anniversary, readers of The Seattle Medium have named the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle the winner of the Best Nonprofit Organization (Large and Mid-Sized) category in the inaugural Best of the Best Northwest Readers’ Choice Awards, recognizing an institution whose legacy continues to grow.
Founded nationally in 1910 to help African Americans migrating from the rural South establish new lives in northern cities, the Seattle affiliate opened in 1930 during the Great Depression. From its earliest days, the Urban League provided employment assistance, housing advocacy and critical support to Black families navigating discrimination in a rapidly changing city.
Nearly a century later, the organization remains rooted in that same commitment to opportunity and equity, even as the challenges facing Seattle’s Black community have evolved from employment discrimination and segregation to housing affordability, economic mobility and persistent systemic inequities.
“Organizations like the Urban League were created in a time where there was so much against us,” said Michelle Merriweather, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. “Individuals and families knew that they didn’t have to go through the Great Migration alone, that they had the information and preparation to be valued contributors of society.”
Reflecting on today’s social and political climate, Merriweather said the Urban League’s nearly century-long history has prepared the organization to confront today’s challenges.
“Where the deliberate erasure of Black brilliance is happening, this work is so instrumental because it is a reminder that we have been preparing for times such as this for nearly 100 years to support, uplift and protect our community,” Merriweather said.
That enduring commitment has also guided one of the most significant periods of growth in the organization’s history.
After joining the Urban League as vice president in 2015, when the organization employed just 12 people, Merriweather became president and CEO in 2018. Since then, the staff has grown to more than 150 employees, allowing the organization to significantly expand its reach in housing, workforce development, education, financial empowerment and public policy advocacy throughout the region.
That growth has enabled the Urban League to broaden its reach across nearly every aspect of its mission, allowing the organization to serve more individuals and families than at any point in its history. What began as an organization focused primarily on employment and housing assistance has evolved into one of the region’s leading advocates for economic mobility, educational opportunity, affordable housing and racial equity.
For Merriweather, however, growth has never been measured simply by the size of the organization. It is measured by the Urban League’s ability to respond to the evolving needs of the community.
Related Article: Thank You For Making Our Inaugural Best Of The Best Northwest Readers’ Choice Awards A Huge Success
That growth has strengthened the Urban League’s programs, but Merriweather said the organization’s greatest asset continues to be the trust it has built within the community over nearly a century.
For Josalyn Ford, the Urban League’s chief advancement officer, the Best of the Best recognition reflects that enduring relationship.
“My first thought is gratitude and excitement,” Ford said. “If after 95 going on 96 years we continue to be a cornerstone for our community, I think it says a lot about our ability to keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s taking care of our families, prioritizing the needs of our individuals looking for support, and overall making sure we’re keeping and advocating for the rights on behalf of our community.”
A lifelong Seattle resident, Ford said the Urban League has remained an organization people know they can turn to when they need help.
“Within the amount of time that I’ve been a resident of Seattle, born and raised, I know that I could call on the Urban League for anything whether it’s housing services, financial empowerment, workforce development or education,” Ford said.
One of the clearest examples of the organization’s expanding vision is its growing role in affordable housing development. While continuing to provide its longstanding programs and services, the Urban League has increasingly invested in creating permanent housing opportunities that help combat displacement and preserve Black communities in Seattle.
Among its recent projects is Altair Jackson, a newly opened development providing 207 units of affordable housing in North Seattle. Construction has also begun on Altair Queen Anne, which will add more than 100 affordable homes, while the future Empowerment Center at the historic intersection of 23rd Avenue and Rainier Avenue will serve as the Urban League’s permanent headquarters and include more than 150 units of affordable family housing.
For Merriweather, those developments represent far more than new buildings.
“Our ancestors that created this organization hoped that in a generation, the challenges they were solving for would be done,” Merriweather said. “It is clear that we have a long way to go. Some of that work includes going into real estate development and ensuring that our community has access and choice to the communities that they want to live in, putting a stake in the ground that we are here, we belong here.”
While Merriweather reflects on the organization’s history, Ford is focused on ensuring its impact continues to grow for generations to come.
“In the next 10, 15, 20 years, I want us to have more developments in our city and beyond,” Ford said. “I want us to be at the forefront of legislative ideals and goals with respect to the advocacy of Black bodies, Black men, Black women, Black trans men and women, just really identifying ways for us to build generational wealth and making it possible. Ten to 15 years down the line, I don’t want anyone to wonder what we do or who we are. I want them to call on us because they know we’ll make a difference on their behalf.”
For Merriweather, the Best of the Best recognition represents more than an award. It reflects the strength, resilience and collective commitment of a community that has sustained the Urban League for nearly a century.
“My hope is that we use this moment, this celebration of the best of our best, to realize that we’re all needed, we’re all valued, and it takes a village to get to where we want to go,” Merriweather said. “We don’t always have to agree on the path to get there, but we all agree on the destination.”
That shared vision has carried the Urban League through 95 years of service, and its leaders believe it will continue guiding the organization into its next century.
As the Urban League approaches its centennial, its greatest achievement may not be the number of programs it operates or the number of people it employs. It is its continued ability to evolve while remaining rooted in the same mission that first brought it to Seattle nearly a century ago: expanding opportunity, protecting equity and helping Black families build stronger futures for generations to come.
To see the full list of winners visit bestofthebestnw.com
