Since it's founding in 1917 by William B. Ashby, the Urban League has provided training, assistance and direction to thousands of African-Americans and others in the Essex County area. Whether providing financial assistance to recently arrived settlers from the South in the 1920s and 30s, arranging for an applicant's first job in the 1940s and 1950s, to providing Financial Education and Computer Job Training for adults and Early Childhood Education in the 1990s, the Urban League of Essex County has always had an important impact on quality of life for many African-Americans in the community. Our mission is to assist African American and other disadvantaged urban residents in the achievement of social and economic equality.