Urban League Long Island Ends 2019 On A High Note

The Urban League Long Island (ULLI) ends 2019 on a high note as they prepare to enter the third decade of the 21st Century with the same 20/20 vision the people of Long Island have come to rely upon. Since the release of Newsday’s undercover investigation of real estate agents, Long Island Divided, President and CEO of ULLI, Theresa Sanders, has appeared before the New York State Senate – through the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development, the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, and Committee on Consumer Protection – to offer testimony on her views and perspective on the revelations of unequal treatment of paired testers seeking to buy homes. During her testimony, Ms. Sanders said, “What’s become clear (about steering) is that racial residential segregation is a fundamental cause of health disparities, and places a drag on economies, putting Long Island’s long-term economic future at risk. Research we (ULLI) published in 2017 found that because of racial disparities, Long Island is losing $24 billion in GDP. And it is this precise realization which makes the subject matter of today’s joint hearing – racial real estate steering – a matter of regional and national importance.”

Additionally, Retha Fernandez, Project Director, for the State of Black Long Island Equity Council, convened by ULLI, has just been named Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Suffolk County. This is a new position created under the County Executive and was the direct result of the advocacy work ULLI has conducted over the years. The aforementioned Council released the report, An Equity Profile of Long Island in 2017. That report was released as Newsday was conducting its investigation. The report noted that 42 percent of all communities on Long Island are without a single Black resident. Newsday reported that Long Island has 291 communities and most of its Black residents live in just 11.

Urban League of Long Island has had its finger on the pulse of Black Long Island since 1972, with a mission to enable African Americans and other disenfranchised people to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights. The Newsday report, although shocking for some, came as no surprise to Theresa Sanders, who was a housing tester in 1991. She experienced first-hand what it was like to receive unequal treatment, so when Newsday approached her to say they wanted to conduct an investigation, Theresa was all over it. “We (ULLI) were thrilled that the highly-regarded publication, Newsday, the paper of record for Long Island, wanted to conduct this investigation. It meant that there would be third party validation of what ULLI already was certain to be true.”

The Urban League of Long Island launched #LI2020Vision, a campaign that connotes a clarity of vision and purpose going into the new year. They are asking Long Islanders to share their vision for economic and social equity on Long Island. They want to know what issues, ideas, and actions they value most and join thousands of other Long Island visionaries to help them fund an action agenda to achieve a collective vision. Long Islanders are encouraged to share their vision on Facebook at UrbanLeague LongIsland or @LIurbanleague on Twitter.

For more information about the work of Urban League Long Island visit www.urbanleaguelongisland.org