Radical Expansion: Newly formed Jackson County NAACP holds first election of officers

5/20/2014

Press Release

Jackson County Branch of the NAACP

The new Jackson County Branch of the NAACP held its first election of officers and celebrated the historical event last Saturday, May 17, at the Liberty Baptist Church, in Sylva. Jerry McCombs, the District Supervisor for the North Carolina NAACP, officiated over the election.

A large crowd including elected public officials from both major political parties were present in honor of the occasion. After the election the crowd sang traditional songs of the movement together, including “This Little Light of Mine”, “We Shall Not be Moved”, and “We Shall Overcome.”  There was a barbecue luncheon following the Installation Ceremony.

The Reverend Charles Lee was elected as President of the new branch. Avram Friedman was elected 1st Vice-President, Enrique Gomez is 2nd Vice-President, Mary Sue Casey is the Secretary, Joyce Stratton is the Treasurer, Marion Pryce-White is Assistant Secretary and Lorna Barnett is Assistant Treasurer. Curtis Wood, Tracy Fitzmaurice, Stanley Rogers, Stella Moore, Lucy Christopher, Myrtle Schrader, Marie Cochran and Gene Keldon Austin were all elected to the Executive Committee.

Reverend Lee delivered the keynote address reminding the gathering of the historical role of the NAACP in the civil rights movement and its ongoing effort in the Moral Monday Movement.  Guest speaker, Mary McGlauflin also outlined the issues currently being addressed by the Moral Monday/Forward Together Movement and urged people to get on the bus to Raleigh for the May 19th and subsequent demonstrations at the State Capitol.

A wide range of laws passed in the NC General Assembly in the past two sessions is at the core of reasons that the Moral Monday/Forward Together Movement has materialized inspiring the birth of at least six new branches of the NAACP in North Carolina, including the new Jackson County Branch, #54AB.

Changes to the state’s election laws are seen as a blatant effort to make it more difficult to vote for minorities, women, the elderly, low-income families, day workers, students and people with disabilities.  This is a reversal of the historical trend to be more inclusive, rather than less inclusive in the electoral process.  These measures include the closing of precincts near schools and in low-income neighborhoods, cutting back on early voting days, ending same-day registration, requiring state-provided photo-IDs, and eliminating provisional ballots for those who show up to vote at a wrong precinct.

The NC General Assembly has refused to accept federal Medicaid expansion funds the state is entitled to under the Affordable Care Act.  These funds would enable the state to extend healthcare insurance to 350-500,000 low-income people in North Carolina who are presently without coverage.

The General Assembly refused emergency funds from the federal government to extend Unemployment Benefits to hundreds of thousands of long-term unemployed workers who lost jobs through no fault of their own.

Legislators in Raleigh removed funds from the public school system budget to create a system of vouchers to support private schools, while denying public school teachers higher pay.

Public health and environmental regulations have been gutted by lawmakers in Raleigh.  Governor McCrory has appointed anti-regulation proponents to head the regulatory agencies.

The consequences of this policy came to light most recently when Duke Energy’s Lake Eden coal-ash pond failed, releasing thousands of tons of highly toxic coal ash into the Dan River, contaminating the water supply of a population that is disproportionately low-income and minority.  Regulators, the Governor and Duke Energy are planning to raise utility rates to pay for the clean-up and are evading preventative measures on the other 32 coal-ash ponds around the state posing similar risks.

Safeguards against racial discrimination in North Carolina’s legal justice system have been rolled-back or eliminated by the NC General Assembly.

The Jackson County Branch of the NAACP will be holding regular meetings, announced publicly.  All concerned citizens are invited and urged to join the NAACP and get involved.

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