UDLs are generally located in large cities throughout the United States and work predominantly with minority students.
By 1965, a large Metro Forensic League which included speech, theater, and debate competition developed in Nashville, Tennessee.
[2] While developed as a "gifted" program, it was open to all Detroit communities and brought many socio-economically disadvantaged students into the activity.
The most crucial component in making the Urban Debate League a national education reform movement was seed funding from George Soros’ Open Society Institute.
OSI already had a tradition of supporting high school debate through its network of foundations in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, where OSI had demonstrated that participation in debate fostered the skills that empower young people to actively participate as citizens of open society.
The contributions of OSI and other funders has led multiple other donors to bring to fruition Urban Debate Leagues in their own cities.
[8] All over the country, funders, universities, and individuals who are called to make a difference in their communities are partnering to bring the benefits of debate to disenfranchised youth.
[10] In 2005, the Associated Leaders of Urban Debate (ALOUD) was formed, led by New York University (NYU) President John Sexton and Pitney Bowes CEO Michael Critelli.
Major press coverage of the Urban Debate League movement and NDP projects has been featured in the New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Teacher Magazine, Chronicle for Higher Education, Christian Science Monitor, the White House official website, and on CBS' 60 Minutes.
[11] The goal of the OSI's Urban Debate Program was to offer initial support to fund debate programs within urban communities, develop local stakeholders (e.g., university partners, community funders and school system support) and then to exit the equation.
Today, Urban Debate Leagues are funded primarily by one of three local institutions: urban public school systems, non-profit organizations dedicated to establishing a local UDL, or university debate programs engaged in community outreach.
[citation needed] Most UDLs function in their own unique way, and use different teaching methods to familiarize urban students with the format and application of policy debate.