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FAIRFAX COUNTY NAACP
NEWS FOR YOU
July 2016
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MONTHLY GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Don’t forget we meet on the 2nd Saturday of every month for a two-hour update on local NAACP initiatives and statewide and national legislative developments. We’d love for you to join our growing ranks. Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, August 13th from 10 AM – Noon at the Kings Park Library in Burke (Supervisor Cook’s meeting room). Join a lively discussion of current issues and long-term goals. Let your voice be heard!
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IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN! BRANCH ELECTIONS ARE COMING SOON
According to NAACP Unit Bylaws, Branch Elections are to be held every even numbered year based on the following schedule:
- September Meeting - Election of Nominating Committee
- October Meeting - Report from Nominating Committee and Election of Election Supervisory Committee
- November Meeting - Election of Officers and Members (elected) of Executive Committee
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CHANGE THE NAME INITIATIVE NEEDS YOUR HELP – IMMEDIATELY!
The stakes are HIGH and the time is SHORT.
The Fairfax County School Board will vote on CHANGING THE NAME of J.E.B. Stuart High School at the School Board Meeting on July 28, which will be held at Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA, 7 p.m.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED. SHOW UP AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!
Here is a message from our Fairfax County NAACP liaison and Executive Committee member George Alber:
Dear Team,
We need your help more than ever because there is now an active, vocal, well-organized group, "Save Our School"(SOS), that opposes changing the name of J.E.B. Stuart High School and is speaking at School Board Meetings, sending emails to the School Board, and getting positive press coverage. Here is how you can help:
- Join us at the School Board Meeting on July 28 to show your support
- Speak at a School Board Meeting in support of changing the name
- Email or mail your support to the School Board Members
Please let me know if you have questions or if you need more information.
Thank you for your continued support!
Best Regards,
George Alber Fairfax County NAACP Executive Committee Member &
Liason for the “Change the Name” Initiative
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NAACP ISSUES CALL FOR LEGISLATION
TO HELP STOP THE KILLING
In light of the horrendous unprovoked murder of our African-American brothers last week in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis, the NAACP issued the following statement: justice reform at the 2015 NAACP Annual Convention.
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Dear NAACP Supporter,
There was a 21st century lynching yesterday. And the day before that, too.
Activists created the NAACP more than a century ago to fight racialized violence.
Then, we called it "lynching." Today, we call it "police brutality," but the effect is still the same — our lives are in danger. Endangered by some of the very people who are called to protect and serve us. We are all tense, angry, devastated, and grieving.
We grieve for Alton Sterling. We grieve for Philando Castile. And we grieve with the rest of the country over the senseless loss of lives in Dallas, too — because
the execution of police officers does not end the execution of black Americans, and it will not put us on the path to change.
What will put us on the path to justice is the passage of the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act (LETIA) and the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA). Radical reform of policing practices, policies, and laws at all levels must be made — immediately — because
the current system is taking too many lives
.
We can take small solace in the fact that the outrage over this 21st century form of lynching is not isolated to the black community. Americans of all races and ethnicities are fighting to put an end to the epidemic of violence — gun violence in particular — in this country.
Now is the time to come together as one in grief, in protest, and in pursuit of real, measurable change.
As an organization, we are doing everything we can to ensure justice is served, but we can't do it alone. Stand in solidarity with your fellow activists, hand in hand with your community. Contact your elected officials to demand life-saving reforms to a broken system.
We can — and must — put an end to this together.
Cornell William Brooks
President and CEO, NAACP
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YOUR VOTE, YOUR POWER
During this election year, the Fairfax County NAACP will be holding a series of voter registration and get-out-the-vote programs to ensure every eligible citizen has an opportunity to register and to vote. For our first event, we will be partnering with the Lorton Community Action Center's (LCAC) to register voters during their annual National Night Out event. The event will be held on Tuesday, August 2nd, in the Lorton Park, which is beside LCAC (9518 Richmond Highway) and behind the Lorton Community Library (9520). The event will be from 6-7:30pm.
If you are not currently registered to vote please take this opportunity to do so, and bring a friend or family member. We are also soliciting volunteers to help with this and other voter registration events throughout the Summer and Fall. If you are interested in volunteering please contact:
Kofi Annan (
[email protected]
) or
Karen Campblin (
[email protected]
).
JOIN US
There could never be a more urgent time for you to join the NAACP and let your voice be heard. Our next meeting will be on Saturday, August 13, at 10 a.m. at the Kings Park Library in Burke, in Supervisor Cook’s meeting room. Please help us stand up for Justice and make a difference in our community.
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STATEMENT BY FAIRFAX COUNTY NAACP PRESIDENT SHIRLEY GINWRIGHT ON THE RECENT SHOOTINGS OF INNOCENT CITIZENS
I don’t have words that can describe how I feel about the continued murders in the United States. This past month we have seen the murders of several unarmed Black men, dozens members of the LGBT community in Orlando, and the Dallas police and Baton Rouge officers while performing their duties of protecting citizens. We keep asking ourselves, “When will it stop.” A question, seemingly, with no answer.
Over the past weeks, many protest, prayer vigils and rallies have been held, resulting from the unprovoked and senseless killings of two Black men and eight police officers. While these are great gestures to show solidarity and condolences, we must address and work toward resolving the issues that have led to this unrest. We must learn to show respect for each other, as members of the human race, regardless of the ethnic group, sexual orientation, or race.
Shortly after the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, I met with key Fairfax County officials to discuss what was in place or needed to be put in place to prevent a Ferguson in Fairfax. This meeting resulted in the establishment of the Fairfax County Communities of Trust Committee (COTC) to help enhance relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. COTC has more than 30 members representing civic, religious and public safety organizations. You can learn more about it at
www.communitiesoftrust.com
.
We, as citizens, have a responsibility and obligation to get involved. Speak out when you see something that is wrong, whether with law enforcement or within your community.
Again, we offer our condolences to the families that have been affected by the violence of the past weeks, months and years.
This must stop.
We can and we must do better. We are a country of many cultures, and it will take all cultures to make the difference that is so desperately needed.
Join us in helping to make that difference.
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Membership in the NAACP makes you a part of a force of more than 500,000 people who stand for the freedoms guaranteed in our Nation’s Constitution. The fight for freedom is not free! Your membership will help fund initiatives and programs to support our mission of racial equality and equal justice. It is an opportunity to give back to the organization that has done more to change this country for the betterment of people of color, women and the disenfranchised than any other in the nation’s history.
When you join the Fairfax County NAACP
,
your membership makes a direct and positive
impact in your community
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