NAACP Leaders Talk with Black Bloggers

NAACP President Ben Jealous has been engaged in the Vote Hard Bus Tour going through four states down south. However, he took time yesterday to continue his dialogue with Black bloggers. Garlin Gilchrest II, Chris Rabb and I were the bloggers on this month's conference call. You can see summary of last month's call here.

NAACP leaders introduced to us by President Jealous included Rev. William Barber (North Carolina), Chris Smitherman (Cincinnati) and Angela Ciccolo (NAACP General Counsel).

Here are the highlights from the call:

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Rev. William Barber (NAACP North Carolina Conference) - He shared history of the 'early voting' initiative that began two years ago in North Carolina. This year the state has 15 sites open for Sunday voting. Over 1.2 million NC residents have voted already ... 400,000 of them are African American. Over 6,500 Charlotte citizens voted this past Sunday. Two voter suppression challenges that NAACP NC Conference dealt with recently involved (a) out-of-state college students registered to vote in NC and (b) ex-felon voting rights. Finally, Rev. Barber encouraged everyone to check out the Million Voting March information in print and video.

Chris Smitherman (NAACP Cincinnati Branch) -President Smitherman highlighted the importance of early voting by spending the night in order to be the first person to cast a vote in Hamilton County. Over 15,600 citizens followed his lead as of yesterday. The goal is to have over 25,000 early voters in Hamilton County. He noted that Hamilton County went to Pres. Bush in the 2004 election cycle by only 27,000 votes. NAACP worked with a number of strategic partners including the Greater Cincinnati Urban League, Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), SEIU and others in a variety of early voting efforts. CPS provided two busses to help get 18-year old high school seniors to voting booths! NAACP Cincinnati Branch wants citizens to 'own the ballot'. As such, the branch is actively promoting support for local ballot initiatives.

Angela Ciccola (NAACP Headquarters) - She acknowledged the powerful work being done by local branch and state leaders such as Barber and Smitherman. She pointed out that the NAACP is aggressively fighting voter suppression and voter intimidation situations in places like Lake County (IN), Indianapolis (IN) and Virginia.

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NAACP has a number of election 'watch parties' taking place next Tuesday night. I imagine that most NAACP members and supporters will be watching the election results next Tuesday all over the country.

I understand that the issue of the NAACP Youth Entrepreneurship Institute will be on the agenda for our call next month. NAACP would like to see more bloggers of African descent on these monthly conference calls. Let me know if you're interested and I'll forward your information on to them so you will be notified.

Chris Smitherman Makes NAACP Cincinnati Branch More Relevant

We shared with you news of a new president for the NAACP Cincinnati branch earlier this year. It appears at the people are speaking with their checkbooks about the effectiveness of the new leadership. The branch reported a 100% increase in membership in the six months since Chris Smitherman took office as president.

Smitherman said of the increase, "The increase in membership is based on citizens in our community viewing the Cincinnati Branch of the NAACP as relevant and engaged in issues that impact their daily lives.".

Smitherman successfully led a coaliton of groups to defeat a county 'jail tax' issue that had the support and momentum of big business and major politicians in the city. Last night he ended a hunger strike protesting the ridiculous bond that held a Black man in prison for over 60 days for what appears to be a minor transgression. The bail set by a Cincinnati judge in this case was more than the bail OJ Simpson had to pay to Las Vegas judges for release on 11 charges of armed assault.

NAACP is bringing their national conference to Cincinnati next year and it appears that the local branch may be worthy of the honor. Do you see similiar resurgence by the NAACP branch in your town? More importantly, are you a NAACP member?

Smitherman wins NAACP vote

Christopher Smitherman, the former Cincinnati councilman who promised to make the Cincinnati NAACP chapter a more aggressive voice for civil rights, was elected its new president Tuesday.

In a vote ordered by the national NAACP after last fall's disputed contest, Smitherman took 187 votes to 134 for Edith Thrower, the Cincinnati branch's president since December 2004. About two dozen Smitherman supporters broke into cheers about 10:35 p.m. as they peered into the window of the NAACP's Reading Road office and saw one of Smitherman's election observers, former branch president Marian Spencer, give them a thumbs-up sign and a wink, telling them that their candidate had won.

Smitherman called his election "a tremendous win for the whole community. This is a win for everybody. I am going to get this organization back to substantive issues." The election was considered crucial because Cincinnati will host the NAACP's national convention in 2008.

Thrower stood outside, surrounded by a crowd chanting "throw her out" as she read the results posted on the office door. "Of course, I'm disappointed," Thrower said. "But as long as the process was done properly, then that is the decision of the organization, and I accept it."

James Clingman, an official observer for Smitherman, said Smitherman's election "gives the NAACP a chance to move forward with real integrity. So it's onward and upward."

The vote was important because of the contrasting leadership styles of Thrower and Smitherman. Smitherman made a name for himself in City Hall as a vocal and uncompromising critic of Cincinnati police practices. Thrower, president since 2004, is seen as a private persuader who maintains a low profile but accomplishes a lot. She was credited with persuading the national NAACP to bring its national convention here next year.

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory showed up about 8:10 p.m. to cast his ballot, and he posed for pictures and shook hands with supporters of both candidates. He would not say whom he was voting for. "I'm going to work with whichever candidate is elected tonight," Mallory said. "I just like to see the democratic process at work."

The Villager is cautiously optimistic about the future of the NAACP branch under this new administration. Black people need to have an uncompromising advocate for our issues ... and the NAACP is uniquely positioned to serve in that role. We look for Mr. Smitherman to justify the confidence placed in him by this vote. I 'spose we now have to see what happens with the national leadership in light of the recent resignation of Bruce Gordon.

Are you comfortable with the current leadership and direction of the NAACP branch in your part of the world? Is the NAACP relevant? For our Cincinnati-based Villagers, do you think that Smitherman can make the local branch relevant in the lives of the Black community?