Our Urban League History

The Columbia Urban League Young Professionals (CULYPSC) serve as a volunteer extension for the Columbia Urban League (CUL) affiliate with a focus on advocacy & civic engagement, community service, economic empowerment, and personal & professional development.

In the 1980's and 90's, several Urban League affiliates recognized the need to prepare the new generation to assume leadership of the civil rights movement. The National Urban League Young Professionals (NULYP) was unveiled at the 1999 National Urban League Annual Conference in Houston, Texas.

They recruited African American men and women in their 20'a and 30's and invited them to take active leadership roles in local Urban League programs and activities. Young Professionals (YP) auxiliary groups began to operate under the guidance of affiliates in Detroit, MI (The Blue Monday Network), Chicago, IL (The Metropolitan Board). Philadelphia, PA (Philadelphia Young Professionals), and Washington, DC (Thursday Network).

To support the local CUL affiliate, CULYPSC was established between 2000 and 2001. The founding chapter president was Stephen K. Benjamin, former Mayor of the City of Columbia (2010-2021). In 2017, Hamilton R. Grant reestablished the foundation and reactivated the chapter. In 2019, Elána R. Frazier was appointed president of the chapter.

Currently, there are over 100 CULYPSC members to network with and 65 YP chapters across the United States with over 4,000 YP members committed to engaging their communities in the National Urban League movement.