Last week I was in DC for the Nati.onal Ur.ban Lea.gue's (NUL) Cente.nnial conference and had a great time. Last year it was in Chicago and that made me want to come to DC to celebrate the 100 year anniversary. I've been a member of the Chicago Young Professional affiliate since I moved here and I believe that it's an organization that truly empowers communities and changes lives. Last year the focus was on jobs and employment, but this year the focus was education.


The conference kicked off on Wednesday, but I arrived too late to partake in any of the opening day activities. But I heard that Maya Angelou gave a impressive speech and John Legend had an awesome concert. I was up bright and early for President Obama's speech on Education.


He discussed his "Race to the Top" program and how it was different from his predecessors "No Child Left Behind" program. By now most people have seen the clips of that speech online, so if you are curious, check it out. I think the crowd was very receptive to him until he started talking about personal responsibility. That seems to be a sore subject with "us", but I thinks it's an important part of success. I went to a Young Professional luncheon right after the speech, and then hit up a few hospitality suites for dinner and drinks. I missed the Thursday night activities, but I was up bright and early for the National Day of Service. The NUL had partnered with DC cares and about 1000 people attending the conference volunteered to help at different locations around the capital. I volunteered at the YMCA Capital View where we planted some flowers and did some other beautification projects. Don't let anyone tell you that gardening is EASY! LOL! I went back to the hotel to lay in bed and participated in work conference calls until it was time to hit happy hour the night time party.

Saturday they had a Gospel Brunch with Mary Mary, but I only was there for the food part. I rolled up there with sunglasses and went back to bed before the entertainment began!  I then went to Ladies of Power luncheon in the afternoon where they served this wonderful crab ravioli and awarded several women in different fields. Two notables awardees were Angela Bassett and Laila Ali.



Laila Ali is ADORABLE and tall. Her speech made smile also. The rest of the day was spent kicking it and of course we had a party at night. I left DC Sunday afternoon and was back at work on Monday feeling empowered!