Naacp of North Carolina

NAACP Celebrates 100 Years

Update: News Coverage "A Century of Success" -- "In Fayetteville, in the shadow of the Market House where slaves were once sold, the NAACP celebrated the 100th anniversary of the NAACP." Click.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on February 12, 1909, the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. A multi-racial group of activists answered ''The Call'' for a national conference in response to a vicious episode of white racist violence against Black people in Mr. Lincoln's hometown of Springfield, Illinois. The racist attack came 10 years after the prototype of such attacks, the ugly racist coup d'etat in Wilmington, N.C. in 1898. The Wilmington terrorism had been condoned and covered over by racist histories, and no one was brought to justice for it. This set the stage, throughout the next decade for similar attacks across the South. When these pogroms reached Lincoln's hometown, it sparked enough outrage among some white progressives to put out a call to action which said, in part:

FBI and SBI Should Investigate Alleged Firebombing in Scotland Neck

The North Carolina NAACP calls for a thorough FBI and SBI investigation of the alleged fire bombing in Scotland Neck, North Carolina. On the morning of Friday, April 10, 2009, according to witnesses, two white men allegedly fire bombed a duplex apartment on Greenwood Street in Scotland Neck. This fire burnt the duplex to the ground and caused fire damage to two adjacent homes. The bombing also displaced four families from their residence, including one African American woman 80 years old who has lived there for more than fifty years. As of the current date, no suspects have been arrested. All persons affected by the alleged fire bombing are African Americans.

Black DA Needed for Wilson, Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County

NAACP presidents from Wilson, Rocky Mount and Edgecombe County, along with several area elected officials, are calling on Gov. Bev Perdue to appoint an African-American to the post of district attorney for the Seventh Judicial District. See News and Observer story quoting Rev. Barber and Spring Hope Enterprise story quoting Andre Knight..

Workers at Smithfield Packing's Wilson Plant Need Union, NC NAACP Declares

Leaders from the North Carolina NAACP, including State President William Barber and Wilson Branch President Alonzo Braggs joined with workers and representatives from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union on April 20 to support workers in their bid for a union at Smithfield Packing Company's Wilson, NC bacon facility. The union recently won an election at the company's largest hog slaughterhouse 90 miles away. The NAACP has a historic relationship with the UFCW and with the labor movement, working together for economic empowerment of working people.

Gov. Perdue Hosts NAACP and Civil Rights Roundtable

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, State President of the NAACP, members of the State NAACP Executive Committee along with heads of progressive civil rights organizations throughout the state were hosted by Gov. Perdue in a first-of-its-kind policy discussion around issues affecting African-Americans and other minorities. The purpose of this 90-minute meeting was to articulate the NAACP'S 14-Point Agenda on education, economics, health, labor, criminal justice, housing, etc., which is supported by 85 statewide organizations and to make specific recommendations on the administration of the Stimulus Plan to ensure that it meets Title VI requirements for contracts in the use of federal funds in an effort to make all North Carolina more prosperous. The 14-point agenda can be found on the Internet at www.hkonj.com.

Duplin Citizens Oppose Bill to Dilute Strength of African America Vote

A busload of citizens from Duplin County, members of the Duplin County NAACP, and NAACP State Leadership, protested Senate Bill 550 which tries to add an additional member to Duplin County’s Board of Education and Board of Commissioners. The Duplin County Board of Elections and its Board of Commissioners both oppose this bill.

Stimulus Funds Must Assure Equitable Opportunities for Blacks, Other Minorities

The National NAACP Board of Directors, which includes three members from North Carolina, has directed all State Conference Presidents to monitor their State’s Stimulus Funds personnel and procedures to assure that African Americans and other minorities receive equitable opportunities and awards in the spending of Federal funds. The N.C.NAACP met with Dempsey Benton, the N.C. Stimulus Fund Director on April 8.

According to Rev. William Barber, NC NAACP President, “We must ensure that the stimulus is not stifled by barriers of race or lukewarm outreach to historically under-utilized businesses.”

The N.C. NAACP has asked N.C. Senators Burr and Hagan for a Title VI Office for North Carolina, to ensure equity in the handling of the stimulus funds. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits race discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. President John F. Kennedy, who proposed Title VI just before he was assassinated, explained its purpose: "Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial discrimination."

NC NAACP letter to the two U.S. Senators from NC follows.

NC NAACP Endorses Campaign for Change Anti-Gang Efforts Targeting At-Risk Youth

A Campaign 4 Change? Vegas Don Story | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

The North Carolina NAACP endorses the work of Otis Lyon and his organization Campaign4Change and its latest production, “C4C N DA HOOD.”

This production brings the message of choosing alternatives to violence, drugs and the lure of the street and extends the reach of the NAACP into the minds of our young people. Most inner city youth are smart and talented, but are vulnerable to the fast and flashy and often fatal street culture.

Statewide Energy Efficiency Program Supported by NAACP

Legislation has been introduced in the General Assembly to create the NC SAVES ENERGY program, that backers say will lower energy bills, protect customers'  by eliminating the need for new power plant construction and the resulting costs, create thousands of green jobs, and help protect North Carolina's environment by reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions -- all without impacting the strained state budget. With the grassroots backing of the NC NAACP and over 30 consumer, faith, social justice, senior citizen and environmental nonprofits, legislative sponsors from across the state introduced, House Bill 1050 in the state House of Representatives.  Lead sponsor for the bill is Rep. Dan Blue of Raleigh. Other prime sponsors include Rep. Joe Tolson of Pinetops, Rep. Rick Glazier of Fayetteville, and Rep. Pricey Harrison of Greensboro. 

Collective Bargaining Rights for Public Empoyees Supported By NC NAACP

NC NAACP leader speaks in support of public employee collective bargaining and against Jim Crow era statue-NC 95-9.

Watch video.

On the Passing of John Hope Franklin

Watch a video interview Dr. Franklin gave exclusively to the NC NAACP in 2007.

In the Christian Bible, there is a verse, describing a forerunner, which simply says “There was a man named John.”  We have now learned that a man named John Hope Franklin, who has been a gift to the entire world, a forerunner in the struggle for freedom, has now slipped gracefully into the hands of God.  We, who knew Dr. Franklin, referred to him with the greatest respect because of the truth he told about our history which continually gave us hope that if we own the past we could correct our tomorrows.

Voting Rights Ruling By U.S. Supreme Court Ignores Ugly Racist History

Update March 25, 2009: NC Attorney General Roy Cooper attended People of Color Lobby Day at the State Legislature with NC NAACP activists to announce he is filing a "friend of the court brief" in Supreme Court voting rights case. See Associated Press coverage.The NC NAACP release can be found at the end of this article.

The U.S. Supreme Court's latest interpretation of the Voting Rights Act is a "direct blow" to the state's efforts to heal the "racist wounds of the past," the NC NAACP says. In a 5-4 decision March 9, 2009, the high court ruled that the Voting Rights Act does not apply to legislative districts that are less than 50 percent minority. The decision means that a congressional district in the Wilmington area will have to be redrawn and that minorities could lose representation. See coverage in the Raleigh News and Observer.

A N&O editorial, "A seat, a setback: Supreme Court ruling invalidating the shape of an NC legislative district will dilute minority voters influence" supports the NC NAACP position.

Below is a joint statement of Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President of the NC NAACP; Amina J. Turner, Executive Director; and Mr. Al McSurely, Legal Redress Committee Chair.

Activists Fight Small Power Plants As Health Hazard

Building manure-based power plants in rural areas would expose blacks and poor people to arsenic and other pollutants, the NC NAACP contends. ""Everyone wants jobs, but you have to be against a job that on the back end may bring disease," said William Barber II, president of the state NAACP. "I guarantee you if they attempted to put it in a suburban community or a higher-income area, it would be an all-out fight against it." Read the story.

Protests in 5 NC Cities Over Racist Cartoon. Sign Petition Telling Murdoch to Fix the Problem

The above cartoon from The New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has sparked an avalanche of protest nationally. NAACP leaders in five North Carolina cities with Fox affiliates, also owned by Murdoch -- Charlotte, Durham, Wilmington, High Point, and Morehead City -- gathered at the stations on Feb. 27 to ask their general managers to join the protest.

News Coverage: Associated Press

[Take action] Tell Murdoch to fix the problem!

James Johnson Case: Enduring Example of Prosecutorial Misconduct

The NC NAACP has played an integral role in exposing a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct in North Carolina, as exemplified by the case against James Johnson of Wilson, NC. Learn more at www.ncprosecutorialmisconduct.com.