NAACP Newsletter

Yahoo News: New report says institutionalized bias spurs racial disparity in Black homeownership
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, told Yahoo News that racial discrimination is deeply rooted in the financial industry and its lack of response to bias and racism. This is exemplified by systemic and discriminatory practices like redlining — which is defined by the Legal Information Institute as the “denial of services such as mortgages, insurance loans, and other financial services to residents of certain areas, based on their race or ethnicity.”

The Guardian: US justice department sues city of Jackson over water crisis
Johnson said: “Somehow, in the year 2022, equality and justice remain out of reach for Black communities across America. “The disparities facing our community are stark – just look at the catastrophe unfolding in my home town of Jackson, Mississippi. More than 100,000 people, the majority of whom are Black, are without safe access to drinking water for the foreseeable future.”

The New York Times: 5 Georgia Takeaways: Scandals Still Matter, and Trump Faces Blowback
Anticipating long lines at the polls, civil rights groups planned “parties to the polls” all over the state, featuring water and live entertainment, just beyond the minimum distance from polling locations mandated by the new rules. And the N.A.A.C.P. threatened to sue counties that allowed frivolous lawsuits under provisions of the voting law that allowed unlimited challenges to individual ballots. “African Americans in this state know how to mobilize,” Mr. Griggs said. “But you shouldn’t have to out-organize voter suppression.”

The Hill: NAACP calls for Supreme Court to ‘uphold the integrity’ of elections
The NAACP is calling on the Supreme Court to “uphold the integrity” of elections after Wednesday’s oral arguments in the Moore v. Harper case on the “independent state legislature” theory. The case, which arose from North Carolina’s efforts to redraw congressional maps, could effectively eliminate state courts’ oversight of elections, advocates warn.

The Atlantic: What the Georgia Runoff Revealed
Black voters came out in big numbers in Georgia’s early voting, and activists in the state are confident they will remain highly engaged through 2024. “Our goal was to build a culture of voting, and that’s what we have done in Georgia over the past five years,” Amari Fennoy, the state coordinator for the NAACP Georgia State Conference, told me.

USA Today: How did Republicans lose Georgia? Herschel Walker, another Donald Trump-endorsed candidate, flames out
Gerald Griggs, Georgia NAACP state conference president, said Georgians, especially Black Georgians, have proven adept at organizing around voting rights. “We will continue to organize and lift up the voices of the marginalized and people of color,” Griggs said. “That’s the message of this election. We will out-organize any method to silence us, but we should not have to do that.”

Variety: NAACP Image Awards to Take Place in February on BET (TV News Roundup)
The 54th annual NAACP Image Awards has unveiled its calendar of events, leading to a live broadcast from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif., on Feb. 25, 2023. The ceremony will air live at 8 p.m. ET on BET. The 54th NAACP Image Awards will feature three new categories within motion picture, television and streaming categories, including outstanding hairstyling, outstanding make-up and outstanding costume design. Nominees will be announced on Jan. 12, 2023.

Deadline: NAACP-CBS Studios Venture Sells Dramas ‘For Justice’ & ‘The Pact’ To CBS
The NAACP production venture with CBS Studios has set up two more drama projects at CBS in its second broadcast development cycle, For Justice, from writers Sallie Patrick and Garen Thomas, which is based on the life of former NYPD Detective Katrina Brownlee; and The Pact, from writer Marcus Dalzine. The venture’s President, Sheila Ducksworth, executive produces all projects alongside NAACP’s Leon Russell and Derrick Johnson. CBS Studios is the studio.

Amsterdam News: Gertrude Morgan, founding member of the Niagara Movement and the NAACP
She later became instrumental in founding the NAACP and played a prominent role in the suffrage movement and the fight for women’s rights. In addition to these activities, she served as president of the Women’s Era Club, was on the board of the Harriet Tubman House and was appointed by Gov. Cox to represent the Commonwealth at the dedication of the Frederick Douglass House Museum in 1922. And we should note that she was a tireless worker to get the 19th Amendment passed to give women the right to vote.

WDEF: NAACP Holds Meeting on Tennessee Student Retention Law
The President of NAACP’s Tennessee State Convention, Gloria Sweet-Love referenced the tough position students were put in by the COVID-19 lockdowns by stating, “You know there was a hard shutdown and then some places had virtual and some places didn’t. We are concerned about those babies that didn’t have a hotspot, a computer, or a tablet that they could get on.”
 

STATEMENTS:

• NAACP Celebrates Release of Brittney Griner
• We Should Celebrate, not Denigrate, the Rise in HBCU Enrollment
• NAACP Celebrates Senate’s Passage of the Respect for Marriage Act