Regional Update

Crisis, The, Jul/Aug 2006 by Gamber, Frankie

NAACP branches around the nation have been working diligently in their communities. They are addressing employment and education issues, youth empowerment and criminal justice. Here are some highlights:

Region I Japan, Korea, Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington

In Hanford, Calif., local NAACP members launched a campaign in January to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a holiday with pay for the city workers. Currently, workers may observe the holiday with a "floating" day that can be used throughout the year. The Hanford branch is hoping to secure official status for the holiday during November elections. It must collect more than 2,000 signatures before July 12 to have the measure placed on the November ballot.

The California State Conference criticized the decision by officials in the Sausalito Marin School District to conduct searches by drug-detection dogs once a month at a middle school. It began its own examination as to whether or not students' civil rights had been breached and was joined in protest by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In late March, the school board agreed to suspend the program temporarily in order to evaluate community responses to it.

The Salt Lake City, Utah, branch urged an inquiry after Alvin Itula, who was of Samoan descent, died following an altercation with city police officers in late April. Itula was reportedly beaten, pepper-sprayed and subdued with a laser. The officers involved in the incident were placed on leave.

Region II Germany, Italy, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

The Schenectady County, N.Y., NAACP worked with the county's human rights commission to file a lawsuit against Super Steel Schenectady Inc. The lawsuit, filed in April, claims that African American employees faced harassment, including racist language and graffiti. One employee claimed that he found a toy monkey with its head removed in his locker.

The Wilkes-Barre, Pa., NAACP held a Community Leadership Summit in April. The event sought ways to attract more minority teachers. It was called after an initial summit in March identified teacher diversity as a key concern. The first meeting also identified the city's police and fire departments as areas in need of a more representative workforce.

Region III Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin

The Du Page County, 111., NAACP joined with the Quad County Urban League to sponsor its second job fair for teachers in March. Organizers hope the job fair, which drew about a half-dozen school districts, will help increase teacher diversity.

A new partnership between the NAACP of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Scott's Food & Pharmacy enabled the branch to take youngsters on a Southern civil rights history trip. Beginning April 26, five percent of all sales made on Wednesdays at one local store were given to the branch's United for a Change program. This year, Scott's donated $7,000 so that youth could travel to Mississippi and Alabama in June. The NAACP is hoping to raise $30,000 by next summer to take 55 young people to Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

The Akron, Ohio, branch participated in a rally on May 3 commemorating Charles Plinton. PHnton had been a graduate student at the University of Akron when he was arrested on drug charges in March 2004. Though Plinton was acquitted of the charges in August 2004, the University of Akron suspended him from the school for the fall 2004 semester. Plinton committed suicide in December 2005. The university subsequently formed a committee to reassess its law and punishment procedures.

Region IV Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming

Region IV Director Rev. Gill Ford and the St. Louis, Mo., NAACP protested against the use of police chases after a February chase killed Rev. Nathaniel Cole, an innocent driver whose car was hit by the vehicle of a driver attempting to escape capture. The St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association agreed in May to adopt new regulations regarding when it is appropriate for police to engage in chases.

In March, the Denver branch participated in student-organized protests against the closing of the Manual High Educational Complex. School officials plan to close the school - most of its students are African American and Latino - for a year and place its students in other schools due to a shrinking student body. In protesting the school closure, the Denver branch noted that school officials did not get feedback from parents before making their decision. The school is slated to re-open in fall 2007.

Region V Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

The Augusta, Ga., NAACPplans an investigation into the punishment of a 6-year-old kindergarten student. Parents and NAACP officials were outraged when a kindergarten teacher made the young boy, the only African American in the class, clean a toilet as punishment for soiling the bathroom in late April. The boy's parents have removed him from the school.