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NAACP in the News
San Antonio Express News: Volunteers prepare for NAACP national convention’s arrival next month
As San Antonio gears up to host the NAACP’s national convention for the first time, an estimated 100 to 150 volunteers turned out Saturday for an initial training session to prepare for the upcoming event. The civil rights organization expects 8,000 to 10,000 visitors will attend the 109th NAACP Annual Convention happening at the Convention Center on July 14-18.
Washington Post: March for Our Lives plans to barnstorm the country with voting drives this summer
The students have taken particular aim at the NRA and politicians who receive support from the organization, and gun control advocates have started the #votethemout movement to remove those politicians from office. The NRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Groups including Rock the Vote, Headcount, NAACP and Mi Familia Vota will be working with the student bus tour to support digital and in-person voter registration.
The New York Times: Disability and Civil Rights Groups Sue DeVos Over Investigation Rollbacks
Three national civil rights organizations sued the Education Department on Thursday over new procedures that allow its Office for Civil Rights to dismiss complaints that it determines to be burdensome or a drain on the department’s resources. The National Federation of the Blind, the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said that the department was “arbitrary and capricious” in making substantive revisions to its case-processing manual, which guides its handling of civil rights complaints, without giving the public notice, an explanation or a chance to comment.
Washington Post: NAACP, special-education advocates sue Betsy DeVos over her department’s handling of civil rights cases
For the past several years, the Education Department has received thousands of civil rights complaints: victims of alleged sexual assaults saying their universities mishandled their cases, blind students encountering inaccessible textbooks, girls basketball teams seeking equal access to gymnasiums. In an effort to reduce a backlog of cases, the Education Department under Secretary Betsy DeVos began dismissing complaints that placed “an unreasonable burden” on the department. And it dispensed with cases filed by the same person or group against multiple institutions — a tactic commonly used to show a pattern of violation
The Hill: Civil rights groups sue Education Dept over provision on dismissing civil rights complaints
Civil rights groups sued the Education Department (DOE) on Thursday over a new manual allowing officials to start dismissing hundreds of civil rights complaints. The National Federation of the Blind, the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates and the NAACP filed the lawsuit against the department, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Candice Jackson.
Ebony: NAACP Sues Betsy DeVos, Education Department for Not Addressing Discrimination Complaints
“Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education have determined that civil rights no longer matter. They’ve decided to abandon DOE’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) responsibility to investigate racial, gender or disability discrimination complaints,” said NAACP Spokesperson Malik Russell told The Root. The Education Department’s decision not to pursue complaints would negatively affect students of color, students with disabilities and students leaving college with student loans, the lawsuit states.
Complex: The NAACP Is Suing Betsy DeVos for Dismissing Discrimination Complaints
The NAACP has filed a federal lawsuit against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education, according to The Root. The lawsuit accuses DeVos and her department of abandoning civil rights enforcement regulations and “dismissing hundreds of complaints.” The NAACP is filed the suit on Friday alongside the National Federation of the Blind and the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates to the U.S. District Court of Maryland. “Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education have determined that civil rights no longer matter. They’ve decided to abandon DOE’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) responsibility to investigate racial, gender or disability discrimination complaints,” said NAACP Spokesperson Malik Russell told The Root.
Forbes: 5 Women Who Are Mobilizing The Latino Community For The Midterm Elections
The NAACP works to advance the civil rights of all peoples of the African Diaspora. The Afro-Latinx community plays a critical role in our membership and in our legal and legislative agenda. For example, this year, we filed two critical lawsuits in federal court in response to the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate DACA. The second suit recently yielded a major victory, paving the way for the program’s reinstatement. We are [also] fighting to hold the Census Bureau accountable for adequately preparing for and funding the 2020 Census, so that Black and Brown communities are not undercounted and, as a result, underrepresented and underfunded. In short, our legal docket and civic engagement strategy reflect the diverse backgrounds and needs of our community.
The Crisis: NAACP Sues Trump Administration
When it comes to U.S. immigration policy, NAACP lawyers see a clear and disturbing pattern emerging—one based on racial bias and implemented by subverting the rules. The Trump administration followed its proposed ban on immigrants from certain Muslim-majority countries with a decision in September 2017 to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shielded from deportation immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The vast majority of DACA recipients are people of color. And in November 2017, the administration terminated the temporary protection status (TPS) of Haitians who came to the U.S. after a 2010 earthquake devastated that country.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is now accepting applications for the NAACP Next Generation program (NEXTGEN), a young adult leadership training program. Applications will be accepted online through December 1 for the 12-month leadership development training program for young adults between the ages of 21 and 35. The program is designed to prepare members who are young adults for leadership positions in the NAACP. NEXTGEN features a series of trainings, including leadership development, legislative action, unit administration, advocacy and program planning consistent with the six NAACP Game Changer areas.
CHESTER – A March 28 incident near Virginia State University resulted in the Chesterfield NAACP’s legal redress committee hosting a press conference last week at Chester Library. Committee chairman Tavorise Marks called the press conference to protest the treatment of 21-year-old James Monk, who was pepper sprayed twice and Tased once after failing to comply with police officers’ orders. Monk was detained so that police could search the vehicle he was driving after an officer said he smelled a “strong odor” of marijuana. At the press conference, Monk said he doesn’t smoke weed and nothing was found in the vehicle.
The NAACP and other leaders in the nation’s civil rights community will be holding a rally on Capitol Hill tomorrow to oppose the nomination of Raleigh lawyer Thomas Farr to serve a lifetime appointment as a federal district court judge. In a statement announcing the event and a 2:00 p.m. “Twitter storm” today, national NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson blasted Farr as emblematic of the brand of divisive judges Donald Trump has been placing on the federal bench.
The NAACP of New England is stepping into the National Anthem firestorm ahead of football season. The organization is calling on Robert Kraft to oppose the new policy announced by the commissioner last month. The letter from the NAACP New England Area Conference reads, in part, “The players’ demonstrations are in the finest tradition of American patriotism, reflecting upon the American constitution, by calling attention to these inequities in a civil, non-violent and respectful manner.”
In two months, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will be in San Antonio. The NAACP is holding it’s 109th annual convention for the first time here. Topics about education, civil rights and safer streets will be on the agenda.
But there was more: Scott’s father was a local civil rights leader and head of the area NAACP. His parents had great affection for a man who, during his short career, tried to unite black, white and brown people. Scott says the family believed Kennedy seemed to really listen; to empathize.
Statements
Today marks a sad day in the nation’s history. On June 6, 1968, the nation mourned the death of one of its leaders. A family—a wife, 10 children, parents, and a host of siblings, nieces, nephews, and others—had to mourn the loss of a promising life cut short. Just two months after informing an Indianapolis crowd that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated, Robert Kennedy’s life was tragically cut short. Today, we pause to mark fifty years since the assassination of Senator and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Sr.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation’s premier civil rights organization will bring together hundreds of volunteers for a rally and training in preparation for its 109th Annual Convention in San Antonio, July 14-18.
In July, 2017 and again in January, 2018 President Trump nominated attorney Thomas A. Farr to a life-time appointment as a judge to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The NAACP strongly opposes this nomination; throughout his career, Mr. Farr has consistently supported and worked for efforts to intimidate, misinform, or otherwise disenfranchise African American voters. The Farr nomination may come up before the full U.S. Senate for a vote as early as the week of June 11, 2018.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is now accepting applications for NAACP Next Generation program (NEXTGEN), the nation’s premier young adult leadership training program. The NAACP is now accepting applications online for the 12-month leadership development training program for young adults between the ages of 21 and 35. The program is designed to prepare members who are young adults for leadership positions in the NAACP. NEXTGEN features a series of trainings, including leadership development, legislative action, unit administration, advocacy and program planning consistent with the six NAACP Game Changer areas.
