The National Urban League – an outspoken defender of Critical Race Theory – has partnered with a Chinese Communist Party-linked influence group for over a decade, including inking deals to collaborate on education initiatives in American schools, The National Pulse can reveal.
The National Urban League (NUL) – which purports to be a longstanding “civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment, equality, and social justice” for African Americans – focuses on influencing America’s education system. NUL is a proponent of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and sued the Trump administration in 2020 for banning the controversial, Marxist teaching plan.
NUL’s advocacy, however, comes amidst its partnership with the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF).
Founded by the chairman of the “highest-ranking entity overseeing” Chinese government’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), CUSEF functions as a key component of the effort “to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party” and influence Westerners to “take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies,” according to the U.S.-China Security and Economic Review Commission.
“Journey of Empowerment.”
In March 2010, current NUL President and CEO Marc Morial led a 45-person delegation – dubbed a “journey of empowerment” – to China on a trip sponsored by CUSEF.
“The National Urban League’s commitment to paving a path to empowerment for African Americans recently led us half-way around the world to the People’s Republic of China,” Morial writes before listing the alleged “positive results” of the trip.
Among the accomplishments hailed by the NUL president was collaboration on education initiatives, including the establishment of the first-ever Confucius Institute – flagged as propaganda operations and national security threats by the U.S. government – at an American Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and a high-school level “student/teacher exchange program”:
The mission quickly produced positive results. During our discussions with the Ministry of Education, Chinese officials agreed to establish the first Confucius Institute at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the United States. […] We had high hopes for reaching concrete agreements during our trip to China, and we were extremely delighted that our counterparts were just as eager to produce results. Both of the education commitments offer a wonderful opportunity for African American and Chinese students and teachers to experience each other’s language and culture. They will also be helpful in the continuing effort to strengthen ties between China and the United States.
In addition to NUL broadening Chinese Communist Party influence over American schools, NUL participants also discussed securing Chinese investment in the African American community according to Morial’s summary:
These agreements also set the stage for continuing dialogue between the National Urban League and Chinese officials. As we explore other areas of common interest, we see the potential of bringing Chinese investment to the African American community in areas such as banking and finance, industry and manufacturing, import-export, real estate, culture and tourism, and the public sector. In particular, we hope to partner with the Chinese to drive urban development and renewal, update inner-city infrastructure and secure investment and financing for business and entrepreneurship, while creating jobs and affordable housing.
A summary of trip participants reveals that several NUL Board members, CEOs from seven Urban League affiliates were in attendance along with former CNN contributor Roland Martin and Clinton-era Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.
CUSEF’S 2011 brochure reveals how the group “continued bilateral discussions” with the NUL, and literature from the following year describes how CUSEF maintained close ties to the league:
Continuing its support of the National Urban League in organizing groups of influential African-Americans to visit China, a group of community leaders visited Beijing and Xi’an in 2012. The visit enabled the participants to gain a better understanding of China’s political, business and academic environments, as well as to explore cooperative opportunities between the Chinese and African-American communities. The Foundation continues to reach out to African American leaders and organizations to build mutually beneficial relationships, and explore opportunities for African American communities with China.
CUSEF, Leave Them Kids Alone.
Following NUL executives’ travels with CUSEF, student delegations from NUL affiliates began visiting China on trips sponsored by CUSEF.
Similar trips have been carried out through collaboration between the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus and CUSEF, with testimonials revealing students praising China as an “amazing communist country” whose “culture and history of China far exceeds those of the United States” upon return.
A trip participant’s blog post summarizing the ninth day of a 2018 CUSEF delegation posted to the Chicago Urban League’s website reveals similar praise for China, describing the two countries as “allies”:
The CUSEF-sponsored high school trips appear to be ongoing, as a July 12th, 2021 press release from the NUL highlights the “transforming” nature of a recent trip:
The journey began in Beijing with visits to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Student ambassadors also studied at the prestigious Nankai University in Tianjin where they learned about the Chinese culture, language and foreign policy. Bonds were formed and barriers were broken between our ambassadors and their counterparts which was life transforming for many of the students. Per one student Ambassador “I learned that many stereotypes about China and their culture are not true and I also learned that their tradition and culture is a way to keep the hope alive and stay close with family.”
The news comes as America’s national corporate media attempts to cover up the direct links between hard-line authoritarian communism and the critical race and gender theories advocated by left-wing groups, activists, and their friends in the Democratic Party.
