"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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NAACP Restructures to Advance Advocacy Strategy
New York —The nation’s most prominent civil rights organization announced today during its annual national board meeting in New York, a strategic restructuring which better positions the organization to lead the critical policy advocacy and social justice work needed to ensure the rights of all people. The group also signed memorandum of understanding with several African American organizations designed to expand its capacity to engage Black voters nationally. “The NAACP is a membership-based advocacy organization with 2,220 branches and a unique and incomparable ability to drive change at the local, regional, and national levels. The current political and policy climate demands an NAACP that is agile and responsive in the face of the serious challenges confronting communities of color, including the continued assault on voting rights and foundational threats to democracy,” said Derrick Johnson, President of the NAACP. This new structure will enable the Association to deploy resources efficiently as conditions on the ground dictate, to employ a research-based approach to civic engagement, and to ensure closer alignment between National Office staff and NAACP branches across the country. For more information visit: https://www.naacp.org/latest/naacp-restructures-advance-advocacy-strategy/ 
We Must Override this Veto!
March 17, 2019
On 2-26-2019, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H. J. Res 46, a resolution to reject and nullify President Donald Trump’s declaration of an emergency so he could shift as much as $6.7 billion of previously appropriated monies away from their intended recipients and used instead to build a wall along the southern border of the United States. The resolution passed by a margin of 245 yeas to 182 nays. Then, on Thursday, 3-14-2019, the U.S. Senate passed the same resolution by a margin of 59 yeas to 41 nays. 25 hours after the Senate action, on 3-15-2019, President Trump vetoed the bill. The House will hold a vote on overriding the veto on March 26, 2019, and we need to work very hard between ow and then to see that this veto is overridden. To review the concerns and actions of the NAACP on this matter, as well as to learn how you can advocate, please review the attached Action Alert and take Fast Action here. NAACP DANE
NAACP Condemns Video Captured by DeForest Village Police Chief
DEFOREST-- The DeForest Village Board will file a complaint with the Police Commission regarding Chief Daniel Furseth.
The board voted 4-2 late Tuesday after a regularly-scheduled meeting where they heard concerns from some members of the community. The village board decided to file a complaint with the DeForest Police Commission after hearing from three people who asked members to send a message of inclusion and respect to minorities. One of those who spoke was Greg Jones, the President of Dane County's chapter of the NAACP. He is also the co-chair for the "Law Enforcement and Leaders of Color Collaboration." During the meeting, Jones addressed the board, saying "The actions that the chief demonstrated do not demonstrate who and what this community is. The only responsible measure to that damage is termination of his employment with this municipality." Jones, along with the Dane County Chiefs of Police Association, denounced Furseth's actions earlier in the day. The police chiefs association issued a press release it said was in response to the Furseth situation on Tuesday. Jones told 27 News in an interview, "When you think about a police chief, you think about a person who is a face of the criminal justice system at that level in that municipality. And for that person to feel comfortable enough to engage in that kind of behavior, use those words, and really do a caricature of African American men, it's highly disappointing." "That behavior is certainly disturbing and disappointing and certainly appalling to a lot of members and that's why the NAACP will be at the meeting this evening to share our expectations of a chief in Dane County." (Reported by: WKOW-TV) NAACP Dane County Responds to...
...the Alec Cook Sentence
Is the “justice” we have witnessed, truly equal justice? Members of the NAACP Dane County don’t believe it to be. At the June 2018 general meeting, members expressed outrage over the sentence received by former UW-Madison Student, Alec Cook by Judge Stephen Ehlke. Cook had been charged with 23 criminal counts involving 11 women, about half of which involved varying degrees of sexual assault. The prosecutors in the case sought the maximum allowable sentence of 19½ years in prison followed by 20 years of extended probation. Cook pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree sexual assault, and one count each of strangulation and stalking. Instead, Judge Ehlke issued a sentence of just three years in prison followed by 8 years of probation. For these reasons, NAACP Dane County joins with others in decrying Judge Ehlke’s decision and calling for: 1. An appellate review of the case. 2. An immediate examination of Judge Ehlke’s sentencing record by race and sentencing data; and for all other criminal judges broken down by race. 3. A meeting with Dane County criminal judges to discuss this and other community concerns. Judges have broad discretion in the number of years of prison a defendant receives, and it is critical that more sunshine be shone on how the discretion is exercised. Madison, WI (July 12, 2018) What actions can you take?
Text "NAACP" to 40649 or click on the link below to take the NAACP's PLEDGE TO VOTE! 
NAACP and the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court After thorough research and evaluation the NAACP opposed Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2005, and we oppose his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court now. Although we are still in the process of closely updating and scrutinizing his record, even the most cursory of reviews demonstrates that Judge Brett Kavanaugh does not empathize with the very real needs of most working middle-class Americans or with the unique concerns of racial and ethnic minority Americans. This nomination is too important to rush. This nomination should only be considered by the Senate elected by the American people in November, 2018, when they are fully aware of the stakes and after the 116th Congress is sworn in. For more information on this legislation and how you can advocate for it, click the button below. |
2019 COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
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