Lansing Branch N.A.A.C.P.   1801 W. Main Street • Lansing, MI 48915 Phone: (517) 484-9171 • Fax: (517) 484-5051 www.naacplansing.org
Newsletter	Winter 2003

 

 

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE   2003 was a busy year for the Lansing Branch and one about which we should all feel proud. A variety of programs and procedures were implemented to accomplish the NAACP goal of eradicating racism and ensuring political, educational, social and economic equality for all.   To be sure, strides have been made in our community, but there is much that we must do to make this a just and fair community. Consistent with National goals, the Lansing Branch began the process of launching strategic capacity building and civil rights initiatives.   In 2003, we increased our membership and began the difficult task of working to increase advocacy, our capability for legal redress and strengthening current and establishing new linkages with like-minded organizations and individuals to further our goals.   Initiatives were launched to address weakened civil rights enforcement, ensure equal employment opportunity, increase economic empowerment, improve education, ensure fair housing, ensure accessible health care and fairness in the criminal justice system. We stepped up efforts to mobilize voters. And, importantly, steps were taken to improve accountability and evaluate our progress.   As I reflect upon our accomplishments for 2003, I am sincerely thankful to all of you who helped to plan or joined us for Branch meetings and sponsored events. There were many highlights, but I am particularly proud of our involvement in the Affirmative Action March in Washington, D.C.; the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Rally; the Picnic Membership Drive; the Meet the Candidate Primary and General Election Forums for Lansing Mayor, City Council and Board of Education seats; the collaborative fundraiser with the Boarshead Theatre and Ploughshares Entertainment; the Historically Black College Tour; HOPE Scholarship Program Dinner; collaborations with Black Men Incorporated of Greater Lansing and LaRoy Froh Public Housing Development to help our youth; and, of course, a most successful Freedom Fund Banquet.   Thank you Branch members and thank you community partners for your commitment to social justice and involvement in making Branch activities a success. And, last, but not least, I offer a special thanks to my Executive Committee members who helped to chart our course and worked to implement initiatives to accomplish our goals.   As you may know, I am running for Sheriff of Ingham County. Although I will continue my involvement with the NAACP, I will be stepping aside as President during my campaign consistent with National NAACP Bylaws. I ask for your support in my bid for sheriff and that you give 1st Vice President Jeanne Baugh, who will assume leadership as Interim President, your full cooperation.   Words are inadequate to express my deep appreciation for your support and involvement. As always, I urge and encourage you, if you aren’t, to become actively involved in helping our community fulfill its promise. Finally, my family and I wish each of you a Blessed Year

 

 

 

 

The Lansing Branch NAACP mourns the passing of Marvin S. Ray, Sr., our 15th President.Marvin Ray, who had retired from the State of Michigan and served as Branch President in 1965, passed in December. As President, he actively worked to increase membership and to promote fair housing. He helped to bolster fundraising by recruiting dynamic speakers for Freedom Fund Banquets that resulted in them being sold out. He will also be remembered for successfully challenging the city of Lansing to create a human relations department with a full-time director.   Marvin Ray was a Golden Heritage member of the NAACP. He will be sorely missed. Our condolences go out to his family.

 

BRANCH OBSERVANCE OF 50^th ANNIVERSARY OF BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION RULING

 

ay 17th will mark the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown versus Board of Education decision intended to end segregated schools. The Lansing Branch will host a program to mark this momentous event.

 

The commemorative observance will be held on Sunday, May 16, 2004, at 4:00 p.m. at Friendship Baptist Church. The church is located at 2919 Pleasant Grove Road in Lansing. Please mark your calendar.

 

If you are interested in working with the committee to plan this activity, please contact Patricia Fitzpatrick, Brown versus Board of Education 50th Anniversary Program chair, at 321-4552.

 

“FROM AFRICAN TO AFRICAN AMERICAN:  THE DNA EVIDENCE” PROGRAM

 

he Lansing Branch NAACP, in partnership with The New Citizens Press, Faith United Methodist Church, South Lansing Ministries, and JATHA Productions, is sponsoring “From African to African American: The DNA Evidence.”

 

This program will feature Dr. Rick Kittles who is Co-director of Molecular Genetics Howard University’s National Genome Center. He helped to establish the state-of-the-art laboratory he uses to trace African ancestry using DNA. He has also conducted research on the genetics of prostate cancer and genetic variations in the African Diaspora.

 

The program will be held on Saturday, April 24, 2004, at 7:00 p.m. at the Faith United Methodist Church.  The church is located at 4301 S. Waverly Road in Lansing. Admission is $5. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to hear Dr. Kittles.

 

THREATENED CLOSURE OF MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

 

he Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit needs your support.  Operating costs have continued to escalate even though expenses have been reduced in an effort to maintain quality services. Memberships support the daily expenses of operating the museum, but current memberships are insufficient to sustain or ensure continued growth. Unless the museum is able to raise the necessary funds, it will not be able to keep its doors open.

 

The museum has only 4,385 members, a number that will need to increase fivefold for the museum to remain viable. The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is the largest of its kind in the U.S.  Please consider purchasing an individual membership for $35 and/or making a donation.

 

Your membership will help to ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to view exhibits and participate in museum sponsored programs that relate to African Americans. Memberships are tax deductible.

 

Information about the museum is available on their website at www.maah-detroit.org. You may call the museum at (313) 484-5827 or mail your contribution to 315 E. Warren Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1443.

 

OUR FAIR SHARE PROGRAM UPDATE

 

he Our Fair Share Program was introduced 15 years ago at the NAACP’s National Convention.  The program was designed to identify the amount of dollars spent by local governments and other public purchasing agents with businesses owned by African Americans.

 

Each year, the NAACP Economic Development Committee has requested under the Freedom of Information Act that public purchasing agents provide the following information for the previous fiscal year:

    -Total dollars spent on goods and services;

    -Total dollars spent with minority and female suppliers; and

    -A list of each minority supplier and the amount of the

      purchase.

 

Even though this information is requested under the Freedom of Information Act for which penalties may be assessed for failure to respond, some organizations have chosen not to respond. And, some have chosen to charge the NAACP for the information. For those that have responded, the results can only be described as dismal, year after year after year. Economic Development Committee Chair Fred Porter has also repeatedly met with these organizations to discuss their lack of progress and urged them to contract with minority businesses, with negligible improvement.

 

Again, this year, information has been requested from public purchasing agents. To date, information has been received from only half of the twelve from whom information was requested. A summary of the findings will be provided in a future newsletter along with a list of the recommended steps that the NAACP will be taking to actively address this important issue.

 

 

NAACP REGION III CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCACY TRAINING INSTITUTE

 

he NAACP Civil Rights Advocacy Institute for Region III will be held April 1-3, 2004 at the Marriott Hotel in Troy, Michigan. The Lansing Branch will be represented by Interim President Jeanne Baugh, 2^nd Vice President Winston Williams, President James Gill, Newsletter and Press and Publicity Chair Genice Rhodes-Reed, Labor Committee Chair Michael Fleming and Executive Committee members Melvin Coleman and Cathy Milett.

 

Region III is comprised of seven states: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky and West Virginia. Shirley Pratt-Miles of Michigan is the Midwest Region III Director. In addition to representatives from branches of all seven states, National NAACP President and CEO Kweisi Mfume and Chairman of the Board Julian Bond are expected to attend.

  

THANK YOU FROM THE 2003 FREEDOM FUND BANQUET COMMITTEE

 

he 2003 Freedom Fund Banquet Committee extends heartfelt thanks to everyone who sold tickets, purchased tickets, served as sponsor, placed an advertisement in the program booklet, made a donation or assisted in some other way to make the Lansing Branch 38th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet a success. It was because of the efforts of many that the program was one of the most successful ever with almost 500 people in attendance.

 

Comments concerning the Banquet have been uniformly positive. A program highlight was, of course, the keynote address given by Nelson Rivers, III, Chief Operating Officer of the National NAACP. A dynamic speaker, Mr. Rivers shared some of the struggles and successes of the NAACP in the fight for equal rights for African Americans and other minorities. He also spoke about the goals and objectives of the National Office for the new millennium.

 

Those in attendance were also impressed with the commanding performance of Taylor Moore, the 14 year-old motivational speaker from Chicago. She was confident, articulate, witty and inspiring. For those of you who missed the Banquet, you missed a treat.

 

The Freedom Fund Banquet is the largest fundraiser of the Lansing Branch. All funds to support our Branch must be raised by our Branch. These funds are used to run our office and to support branch activities that include youth academic and recreational programming and helping families in need.

 

We are especially grateful to our Banquet sponsors. Thanks to General Motors Lansing Operators, our Champion Sponsor for the second year in a row; the Michigan Army National Guard, our Platinum Sponsor; and, Silver Sponsors, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, UAW CAP Council and WLNS News Center 6.

  

2004 BANQUET PLANNING COMMITTEE

 

he Freedom Fund Banquet Committee will hold its first meeting to begin planning for this year’s Banquet at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 at the LeJon Building. Please join us to help with planning. It will be a difficult act to follow, but we want to make the 2004 Banquet even more successful than last year. We need new ideas and dedicated effort. A regular meeting time will be decided at this meeting.

 

Melvin Coleman and Rudy Wilson have graciously agreed to again serve as Banquet co-chairs. If you have questions, please leave a message for them at 484-9171.

 

DECLINE TO SIGN “MICHIGAN CIVIL RIGHTS INITIATIVE” PETITION

 

ichigan residents are urged to decline to sign the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative” petition. This initiative would, in effect, roll back the clock on affirmative action.

 

Ward Connerly, who is African American and a Californian, is the architect of the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.” He led the fight in California where the proposition failed last October.  NAACP President and CEO Kweisi Mfume has called his plan “ill-conceived and irresponsible” and urges everyone to decline to sign the petition.

 

The initiative is deceptive.  Its very name suggests that it is pro affirmative action or pro civil rights. It is not. Its aim is to overturn the laws and programs that the Civil Rights Movement helped to secure. . It proposes an anti-civil rights amendment to the Michigan Constitution. Petition language appears to merely add a ‘civil rights’ clause to the existing Constitution, when in actuality the clause would result in an abrogation and radical reinterpretation of existing civil rights law in the state including the Michigan Constitution.  It has also been reported that a photo of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was attached to a petition to encourage endorsement.

 

The petition refers to so-called “preferences” for minorities and women, which affirmative action is not. Our society has made precious progress toward equality and integration and affirmative action has been crucial to that progress, but we have far to go.  Bias and discrimination against African American and other minorities continue to be an impediment to equal opportunity. Though more subtle than years past, race and gender discrimination are every bit as destructive. 

 

Women continue to make less than men and racial/ethnic minorities continue to make less than their white counterparts. In many sectors, women and members of racial/ethnic groups continue to be underrepresented. Michigan is now one of the most educationally and residentially segregated states in the nation. We do not need to move backward.

 

The petition directly attacks the right of any public university and/or government entity from taking positive action to open up opportunities in education, hiring, and contracting to minorities and women. If Connerly and his Michigan followers succeed, all affirmative action for women and minorities in higher education, employment and contracting would be illegal.

  

Petitioners must obtain the signature of 317,757 registered voters by July 6, 2004 to place the initiative on the ballot for the November 2004 Election.

 

We must work to end patterns of race and gender discrimination through the use of positive affirmative action policies. We must stand against those who seek to use untruths and fear to divide our state.

 

Defend affirmative action. You can help: Decline to sign!!!

  

LAWSUIT TO BLOCK BALLOT DRIVE TO END AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

 

he Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), together with the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus and United for Equality and Affirmative Action, have filed suit in Ingham County to have petitions collected by “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative” followers ruled invalid.

 

The lawsuit is to be heard on Monday, March 22, 2004 in Ingham County Circuit Court before Judge Paula Manderfield. The lawsuit alleges that petitions collected to date to support the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative” are illegal because the relevant section of the Michigan Constitution that petitioners seek to amend is not stated which is a violation of law.  The Michigan Constitution requires that petitions aimed at changing the Constitution clarify what part(s) it is attempting to change and how. This petition does not do comply with this requirement, so the law appears to be on our side at this juncture. If petitions collected to date are ruled invalid as a result of this hearing, Connerly would have to start over.

 

Monday, March 22, will be a key moment in the fight to stop the attack on affirmative action. Join the picket and rally outside the court at 7:30 a.m.  The Veteran’s Memorial Court House where the case will be heard is located at 313 W. Kalamazoo Street in Lansing.

 

If you would more information concerning the March 22 Picket and Rally outside the circuit court where the lawsuit will be heard, contact BAMN at www.bamn.com. You may also e-mail them at letters@bamn.com

 

DO YOUR PART: DEFEND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

 

oin the effort to STOP the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.: Defend affirmative action!

 

The Lansing Branch joins with business and labor, religious groups, civic and community organizations, Democrats and Republicans, and individuals from diverse backgrounds from around the state who have come together to oppose the anti affirmative action initiative that Ward Connerly seeks to have placed on the November ballot in Michigan.

 

We encourage you to do your part!  Get involved!!. Help defend affirmative action:

 

• Refuse to sign the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative” petition and encourage those you know to do likewise.

• Visit or send letters to members of the Michigan Legislature.

• Mail or e-mail an editorial to your local newspaper. Write in response to every article published in your newspaper that supports the initiative.

• E-mail information about the initiative and reasons why it should be opposed to everyone in your address book and ask them to forward it on to those in their address book.

• Use every opportunity to speak out in opposition to this initiative with those with whom you come into contact.

• Publish an article about the initiative in the newsletter of organizations with which you are affiliated.

• Encourage organizations with which you are involved to host a speaker to clarify the initiative and its implications.

• Encourage organizations with which you are involved to submit a resolution or statement supporting affirmative action.

 

For more information, contact Citizens for A United Michigan at www.oneunitedmichigan.org or call (517) 482-1438. Additional information may also be obtained from the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) at bamn@umich.edu or www.bamn.com.

  

NATIONAL OFFICE NEWS AND VIEWS

 

Voting Rights Act

 

Rumors have been rampant that African Americans will lose their right to vote in 2007 following expiration

of the Voting Rights Act. This is not true.

 

The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 guarantee African

Americans the right to vote. The right to vote of African Americans does not expire. The Voting Rights Act

of 1965 insures that no federal, state or local government may prevent people from registering to vote or

voting because of the color of their skin.

 

Racial Disparities in Cocaine Sentencing

 

In 1986, a federal law was passed that created a disparity between the penalty for possession of powder cocaine and crack cocaine. A person possessing 500 grams of power cocaine is subject to the same mandatory prison sentence as an individual convicted of possessing five grams of crack cocaine. Pharmacologically, these two drugs are the same. Consequently, small-scale crack cocaine users receive much stiffer sentences than powder cocaine users and suppliers.

 

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, both crack and powder cocaine use is higher among Caucasians than African Americans. Ninety-seven percent of all crack cocaine defendants are African American or Latino. This has a disproportionate and devastating impact on African American and Hispanic communities. This mandatory minimum sentencing means that people of color are being incarcerated at much higher rates than their Caucasian counterparts.

 

Prison Rape Legislation

 

In July of 2003, the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate unanimously passed the Prison Rape Reduction Act. The purpose of this legislation was to develop national standards for preventing sexual assaults on inmates by prison employees and other inmates.

 

The U.S. Attorney General is required by this Act to establish a commission to study correction policies on rape prevention and the effects of prison rape and to develop national standards for rape prevention.  The U.S. Department of Justice will be required to collect statistics on prison rape and forty-million dollars has been allotted to develop programs to prevent sexual assaults in federal, state and local prisons.

 

 African American and Hispanic communities are especially impacted by this problem since nearly three-quarters of all those entering prison are members of these ethnic groups. Based on current trends, a 1992 US. Department of Justice study projects that one-third of all African American males born in 1992 will serve time in prison during their lifetime.

 

YOUTH NEWS AND CUES

 

 

Please be prompt and remember to bring your friends and other potential members. If you have questions or require additional information, please contact the Branch Office at 484-9171.

 

HOPE Scholarship Program Dinner

 

For the past two years, the Lansing Branch NAACP has sponsored the Helping Other People Excel (HOPE) Scholarship Parent Appreciation Dinner. On the evening of October 29, 3003, 250 parents and students from the Lansing School District gathered to kick off the 2003 class of HOPE scholars.

 

The HOPE Scholarship Program is a partnership between the City of Lansing, Lansing School District, Lansing Community College, General Motors and a host of other community organizations working together to improve the life chances of Lansing’s youth.  Students who successfully complete the program will receive free tuition to Lansing Community College for two years. The program recruits middle school students. In order to receive the free tuition package, they must demonstrate that they are civically responsible and graduate from high school with a minimum of a C average. The program offers an opportunity for students who may not be financially able to realize their dreams of attending college.

 

The dinner was held at the UAW Local 652 Union Hall for the second year. Parents were provided the opportunity to learn more about career exploration, how they might become more involved in their child’s education, the District’s testing schedule and services available at Lansing Community College. Students were given door prizes donated by local businesses, organizations and Michigan State University.

 

Supporters of the program who attended the dinner included NAACP President James Gill, Lansing Community College President Paula Cunningham, Lansing Police Chief Mark Alley, UAW Local 652 Treasurer Mike Belsito, Lansing School Superintendent Dr. E. Sharon Banks and Deb DeLeon who represented Mayor Tony Benavides.

 

The NAACP is proud to be one of the HOPE Scholarship Program sponsors and remains committed to working with the Lansing School District to help improve the education of our youth.

 

Historically Black College Tour

 

The NAACP in partnership with the Lansing School District again sponsored the Historically Black College Tour. The tour was November 5 to 8, 2003. Forty (40) students, along with their chaperones, visited Wilberforce University and Central State University in Ohio; Kentucky State University in Kentucky; and Fisk University, Tennessee State University, and Meharry Medical College in Tennessee. Students also attended the much touted football game between Alabama A & M University and Jackson State University in Normal, Alabama.

 

In addition to meeting with faculty and students on each campus, students visited the dormitories and bookstores. Some of the highlights of the tour included: At Kentucky State University, students participated in a special program to honor the famous Tuskegee airmen. At Fisk University, students were shown a statue of one of that university’s most distinguished graduates, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, co-founder of the NAACP and the first African American to graduate from Harvard University with a Ph.D.  This was the first year that Meharry Medical College, the largest private historically black institution for educating health professionals and scientists in the United States, was included as part of the tour. At Tennessee State University, Ms. Candree Boatwright, an alumnus of that school and the Lansing School District, served as one of the campus guides. A Saturday tour of Alabama A & M University was added following a special request by Lansing School District teacher and Life Member of the Lansing Branch NAACP, Linda Goings, who also served as a tour chaperone. A & M alumnus and Life Member of the Lansing Branch John Staten helped to arrange tickets for the exciting football game between Alabama A & M and Jackson State.

 

Lansing Branch Executive Committee Member Fred Porter is commended for his dedicated leadership in organizing the 2003 Black College Tour. He helped to organize the initial tour and served as one of the chaperones and has consistently been involved for the past ten years.

 

The NAACP contributed funds to help offset tour costs again in 2003. This helped to reduce the overall cost to students. The Historically Black College Tour continues to exist because of the generosity of concerned individuals and organizations such as the NAACP. About one-third of the students who take the tour subsequently decide to attend a historically black college.

 

Take-A-Child Christmas Shopping

 

The Lansing Branch participated with Black Men Incorporated of Greater Lansing (BMIGL) in their Take-A-Child Christmas Shopping Program. BMIGL is a nonprofit organization aimed at improving the quality of life of black children and their families.

 

On Saturday, December 20, 2003, elementary school youth identified by the Lansing School District met at Otto Middle School where they were assigned chaperones for the day and taken to the Value City Department Store to shop.  There each youth was given $30 to purchase gifts. They then returned to Otto for lunch and to wrap their gifts with help from their chaperones.

 

The Lansing Branch donated funds for shopping and members, James Gill, Fred Porter and Suzanne Elms-Barclay, volunteered as chaperones. A good time was had by all.

  

Tutors Needed

 

Tutors are needed for Lansing middle and high schools, especially in the area of mathematics.  If you or someone you know would like to volunteer, please contact the principal’s office of the middle or high school of your choice.