M a r tin L u t h e r K in g J r .
January IO, 2007
Page BIS
2007 sp ecia l edition
Local Leader Committed to King's Dream
Pursuing economic justice for all
C harity P rater
P ortland O bserver
Walk into the Urban League o f
Portland office and you will find a
framed portrait of Martin Luther King
Jr. and an excerpt o f his “ I Have a
D ream ” speech.
The civil rights leader’s words are
ech o ed in the U rban L eag u e o f
Portland's mission today: Bringing
econom ic equality to all.
“You can ’t be equal unless you are
econom ically equal,” says M arcus
M undy, president and chief executive
officer o f the civil rights and social
services organization.
M undy was a m em ber o f the local
urban league’s board of directors for
three years before he took the tem po
rary seat as president and CEO. Since
last July, he has represented the league
in the place o f Vanessa Gaston, a
by
the
The next person expected to take
the seat as president and C E O is
expected to have a clear vision o f
what the league represents - a strong
passion for helping the com m unity,
have an ability to lead and to be fair
when m aking decisions on behalf o f
the organization, and the strength to do
what is right when m aking critical
calculations.
Although the Urban League has
had problem s in the past, there are a lot
o f m isconceptions about its present
state.
The league, its w orkers and its
m em bers have worked hard the past
few years to improve its overall co ndi
tion, from working on strong m anage
ment to cleaning up the organization’s
debts.
M undy spends a lot o f time o ff the
; Several years ago the league
underwent a very difficult
period o f mismanagement, loss
of corporate support, and
program cuts.
- Marcus Mundy of the
Urban League of Portland
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
frie recent dedication o f Portland Boulevard as Rosa Parks Way draws Marcus Mundy o f the Urban
League of Portland to its intersection with Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
form er executive director who left
with high regards to another position in
N evada.
“Several years ago the league un
derwent a very difficult period o f m is
managem ent, loss o f corporate sup
port, and program cuts,” Mundy says.
“Vanessa and other CEOs, including
myself, have worked to pull the urban
league out o f the ditch.”
The local organization now has a
secure financial future with goals set
on continuing to work toward slow,
sustainable growth.
As a single parent o f four children,
Mundy plans to find a replacem ent for
his position within a few months. He
also is concerned with continuing to
run his finance com pany while still
rem aining on the board.
job try ing to become more visible within
the com m unity. He m akes regular
speeches, meets with people in the
metro area, joins local events and
walks, and basically works on inform
ing the people o f Portland that the
urban league is around to help others.
The organization has strong and
successful programs in place to help
educate seniors, advocate for local
issues and find jobs for young profes
sionals. The only thing holding back
the league right now is funding.
“I can’t think o f a single reason why
every African American in Portland
doesn’t have a m em bership at the
Urban League or why every com pany
doesn’t have a corporate m em bership
continued
on page B18
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