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National Urban League CEO Marc Morial Talks Workforce for Black Americans
Brief
Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, framed recent labor data as part of a broader erosion of economic security for Black Americans. Hosts opened with a Brookings analysis (Lauren Bauer) showing labor‑force participation among Black mothers aged 25–54 with children under five plunged 11.5 percentage points in three months to a level unseen in over 30 years. Morial said that spike in exits is being driven in part by layoffs and “attacks on diversity” that he estimated cost “over half a million, maybe three quarters of a million” Black women their jobs, and by unaffordable childcare that pushes unemployed mothers out of job searches. He also highlighted a rise in Black unemployment to 6.3% from 4.3% two years ago.
Morial argued solutions must center on income and affordability: a national living‑wage push (noting no comprehensive federal minimum‑wage update since 2007), aggressive affordable‑housing production, expanded housing vouchers, and coordinated federal‑state‑local–private partnerships. He cited historical federal tools (FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, CRA) and said the Urban League helped ~2,000 first‑time homeowners last year and could scale with more supply. Throughout, he tied the problems to national priorities — criticizing war spending and tax policy favoring the wealthiest — and urged political action (midterms) to rebalance policy toward inclusionary economic growth.
Why it matters
Speaker 1 (citing Brookings fellow Lauren Bauer) reported Black mothers aged 25–54 with children under five saw labor-force participation fall 11.5 percentage points in three months to the lowest level in over 30 years (analysis of BLS data).
Key details
- Marc Morial (Speaker 3), president & CEO of the National Urban League, said corporate layoffs and attacks on diversity have cost “over half a million, maybe three quarters of a million” Black women their jobs and noted the Black unemployment rate has risen to 6.3% from 4.3% two years ago.
- Morial attributed the labor pullback to job losses plus unaffordable childcare and argued policy fixes should focus on income (a national living wage/minimum wage — no comprehensive federal update since 2007) and housing affordability.
- On housing, Morial said housing costs have risen about five times faster than incomes since 2000, estimated a 4–5 million unit shortage, and warned many renters/homeowners pay 50%+ of take‑home pay; he called for expanded vouchers (Section 8), federal-local-private partnerships, and renewed use of tools like FHA/Fannie/Freddie and the CRA.
- Morial noted the National Urban League helped roughly 2,000 first‑time homeowners last year (could scale to 4,000–5,000 with more supply), and argued national priorities (he criticized $2 billion/day Iraq spending and tax shifts to billionaires) must be rebalanced ahead of midterms.