Urban League of Rhode Island collection

Collection — Box: Multi-Collection Box

Identifier: 125-02

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Urban League of Rhode Island collection consists of print materials from approximately 1939 to 1976 produced by the Urban League for existing as well as potential organizational partners and community members. The collection provides insight into the League’s organizational development from the 1930s to the 1970s, including an early statement of policy from the League’s inception in 1939, and materials for an event that began to incorporate Indigenous communities as beneficiaries of the League’s advocacy in 1976. The collection also provides insight into the League’s shifting priorities from the 1930s to the 1970s, for instance its priorities at a time when Black communities comprised less than 2% of Providence’s population in the 1940s, and a strong shift towards equitable housing advocacy in the 1960s.

Dates

1939 - 1976

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

PPL does not claim copyright to this collection. Users of this item are responsible for determining copyright restrictions.

Biographical / Historical

The Urban League of Rhode Island is an affiliate organization of the National Urban League, Inc. based in Providence, RI. The National Urban League has functioned as a historic civil rights organization focused on socioeconomic parity, with emphasis on raising the standards of living for Black Americans across the United States. The Urban League of Rhode Island was formed in 1939, and between the 1930s and the 1970s (years captured by this collection), circulated research reports and multimedia storytelling to substantiate parity for Black Americans living in Rhode Island. Among Black communities in Rhode Island, the Urban League also produced trade directories and bulletins to increase awareness of internal community resources, as well as resources attributed to changes in state and national policy.