Urban League stronger thanks to CEO staying longer than planned

Steven Belton. Photo courtesy of Urban League Twin Cities

By David Pierini, Editor
Steven Belton’s first 90 days at the Urban League in 2015 were tumultuous but he had a way out.

Three weeks in, the Urban League was the subject of a state audit after accusations of double billing.

Not long after that, Jamar Clark was killed by Minneapolis police, setting off a two-week occupation of Plymouth Avenue outside the Fourth Precinct.

Belton’s title was interim CEO and he had taken the job with no intention of staying.

The audit cleared the Urban League of wrongdoing and the civil rights organization urged protestors to end the occupation because of the goals the protest had accomplished.

At the end of that challenging first year, Belton accepted an offer to remove interim rom his title. Come Dec. 31, Belton will retire satisfied that the Urban League Twin Cities is in good shape as it approaches its 100th birthday.

“My intent was this would be a temporary assignment,” Belton said in a recent interview with North News. “There’s an expression that when man makes plans, God laughs and so God had a great chuckle.”

Belton does not speak of his time at the Urban League in terms of individual accomplishments, though friends and colleagues are quick to tick off a list of what he achieved. A man of deep faith and an ordained minister, he is careful in how he manages any feelings of pride.

He will say he feels joy for the resilience, self- determination and passion of the people the Urban League serves. Belton is an introvert who lives in extroverted spaces, from arguing in court as an attorney to preaching before his congregation at Park Avenue United Methodist Church.

And, of course, as CEO and president for the last eight years. Belton is credited with uniting the various Urban League groups into one Twin Cities organization. During his time, Urban League also launched a new Center for Social Justice Research, Policy and Advocacy, which will take deep data dives into disparities between Blacks and Whites.

Also, during his time were two more Black men killed by police, Philando Castille and George Floyd, both senseless deaths that called on leadership from the Urban League and Belton.

Though the accusations of double billing, involving an alternative school the Urban League operated, were quickly resolved by the audit, Belton said, it took more than three years of hard work to restore the organization’s reputation.

“From the outside looking in, one would conclude about Steven is there is a serious resolve,” his friend, the Rev. Alfred Babington-Johnson said. “There’s a kind of gravitas that he brings into every situation. He’s got a great sense of humor, but also a real sense of purpose and focus that helped to stabilize situations that he was involved in.”

Babington-Johnson said Belton shepherded the development of an African American Land Trust to assist families with attaining homeownership. Babington- Johnson said Belton hired a researcher to delve into the declining resources for legacy organizations that serve African Americans and is advocating that philanthropy dedicate resources to these groups.

Alvin Lockridge, the Urban League’s facilities manager, said he was among colleagues who encouraged Belton to seek to stay on as CEO.

“Man, when he came in as interim, he was so approachable and he had all the qualities we were looking for,” Lockridge said. “There was a little bit of division before he came here. We became like a family in no time.

“I asked him to try this for a little and I know a few other people had that same conversation with him. So he decided to come on and promised us five years. He gave us more than that.”

Come Jan. 1, Belton will delay reflecting on his Urban League tenure. He anticipates shoveling snow and doing a fair amount of binge watching of Netflix.

He believes in February, he will be ready to look back. Belton said when he considers the aftermath of Floyd’s death, he found hope in the leadership that emerged rom the unrest.

“There was this crystallization of both protests and strategic engagement around the issues of power,” said Belton, who is married to former Minneapolis mayor Sharon Sayles Belton. “We’re not going to do business as usual. What has given me hope is the sustained demonstration, the sustained work on anti-police violence and the way it crystallized with wealth development, around health inequities, around education inequities...around all of these things. The leadership developed organically and within institutions.”

Also in February, Belton anticipates that he will begin to wonder what lies ahead.

Just prior to getting asked to join the Urban League, Belton had been waiting for another call. He was eager to lead a congregation and was anticipating getting assigned a church.

This is the part where God chuckled and set his feet on a different road.

“My first actions will probably be shoveling snow and clearing the driveway,” Belton said. “That’s part of the allure of it. I don’t know and I don’t need to be in control of it. I’m perfectly willing to see how things unfold.”