Urban League of Northeastern New York is a not-for-profit, multicultural organization committed to the improvement of human services to blacks and other minorities. The records of the Urban League of Northeastern New York include annual reports, meeting minutes and newsletters. The records are divided into three series, Subject Files (1968-87); Meeting Minutes (1968-87); and the National Urban League Files (1966-87).

As an affiliate of a national organization the Urban League of Northeastern New York is obligated to support and follow mandates from the national headquarters. Recent National Urban League issues have been voter education (1983) and public school education (1985). The voter education drive was a proceed to the voter registration drives of the 1960s. Having experienced major declines in federal funding during the conservative Reagan Administration, the National Urban League established the voter education drive in the attempts to have minorities register and vote in the 1984 presidential election. As part of the voter education drive, the National Urban League issued reports on the Reagan administration regarding setbacks in civil rights legislation, the disproportionate spending allowances between social services and military spending, and the nomination of Robert Bork for Supreme Court justice. The Albany Urban League carried on a campaign similar to that of the national campaign.

Higher education was also a major concern for the National Urban League during the 1980s. Cutbacks in federal aid saw minority enrollment fall to new lows. The National Urban League mandate on the issue was the sponsoring of full and partial academic scholarship to worthy minority high school seniors. In response the Urban League of the Albany Area established several scholarships with the help of area banks, corporations, colleges, and universities (1987).

Aside from NUL issues the local affiliate was also responsible for innovative solutions to community problems. The Teen Pregnancy Program (1980-) and the Fatherhood Program (1984-90) were developed by the Urban League of Northeastern New York to address the growing dilemma of teen pregnancy in the Capitol District. In the area of education the Urban League of Northeastern New York has sponsored the Adolescent Vocational Exploration Program (known hereafter as the AVE Program)(1984-). Designed to motivate and prepare high school students for work, the AVE program is operated in conjunction with the Job Training Partnership Administration and the State Education Department. A third area in which the Albany League is highly visible is the Housing Counseling Program (1979-). The Housing Department within the Urban League provides mortgage default counseling, housing referral, and home purchase counseling to first time buyers.

There are gaps in some of the most important records of the collection such as the Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, Executive Directors, Annual Reports, and Departmental Reports. The 1970s go almost totally undocumented. This may be a result of the changes in leadership at the Urban League of Northeastern New York. Since 1978 there have been a total of six appointed or acting executive directors. In light of such turnover records may have been lost or destroyed.