Since 1982, the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga has worked to enable African Americans, other ethnic minorities, and disadvantaged persons to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power, and civil rights. We achieve our mission by collaborating with a variety of community stakeholders to deliver programming and initiatives, through three empowerment centers, now serving l l, 000 individuals annually.

The National Urban League has produced The State of Black America® since 1976. The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga is one of 90 affiliates of the National Urban League spanning across 300 communities, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than two million people nationwide. This report has become one of the most highly anticipated benchmarks and sources for thought leadership for racial equality in America highlighting economics, education, employment, health, housing, criminal justice and civic participation. A key feature of the report is the Black/White Equality Index, a quantitative tool tracking racial equality in America. White population is used as the benchmark because the history of race in America has created advantages for the white population that continue to persist in many of the outcomes being measured. The State of Black America Black/White Equality Index Report produced by the National Urban League in 2024 reflected that Black Americans experience only 75.7 parity with white Americans, an improvement of 1.8 percentage points from their 2022 index.

On May 5, 2023 Hinton & Company, in partnership with the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga released the region’s first highly-localized, data-driven assessment tool — Community Culture Index which aims to measure how well employers in the community are incorporating inclusive practices into their workplaces in a quantifiable and objective way. Inclusive practices refer to policies, behaviors, and actions that help create a culture of belonging and fairness for all and can contribute to an organization’s ability to attract and retain high-performing employees, develop new products, and reach new market segments. 

The Community Culture Index surveyed small businesses, government agencies, nonprofits and major employers from throughout the Chattanooga region on a range of topics. The survey aimed to determine whether these organizations are adopting leading inclusive practices in areas such as recruiting, hiring, strategic plans, and partnerships.

Since 1976, The National Urban League (NUL) has produced State of Black America® the signature annual reporting of the National Urban League and one of the most highly-anticipated benchmarks and sources for thought leadership around racial equality in America across economics, employment, education, health, housing, criminal justice and civic participation.

Under the leadership of the Urban League’s first female president and CEO, Candy Johnson, the Chattanooga affiliate has produced its first-ever report focused on the State of the Black population in Chattanooga and Hamilton County. The goal in initiating this report is to provide a high-quality, data-driven, accessible and localized report for the benefit of public practitioners and the community at-large for a holistic picture of the disparities faced by Black residents in the areas of economics, health, education and civic involvement. We believe that a report curated reflecting the Black experience, led by a minority-serving institution will play a vital role in creating a sustained path toward addressing longstanding racial disparities in our community.