Message from the President!

Voting is a fundamental right and a crucial tool for empowerment. It helps combat systemic injustices, ensures representation for marginalized communities, and influences policies that affect daily lives. Participating in elections honors the struggles of those who fought for civil rights and shapes a future that reflects equality and justice for all.

Voting is important because it allows you to express your beliefs and preferences on issues that affect your community and country. It empowers you to influence decision-making, hold leaders accountable, and participate in the democratic process. Your vote is a way to advocate for the changes you want to see and ensure that diverse perspectives are represented.

The NAACP cannot tell you who to vote for. We only ask that you do vote.

Please vote on November 5th.

-Phyllis Ellis

October 1 - GOTV with Brockton High School Students

The NAACP Brockton Area Branch was pleased to partner with the Brockton Democratic Committee, the League of Women Voters, City of Brockton Elections and HeadCount at the Brockton High School to register students and to talk about the importance of voting.



The students were engaging and asked a lot of questions. We not only registered 18 year olds but we pre-registered 16 and 17 year olds so they will be prepared for the next election.

This was an enjoyable and eventful day. Thank you Carolyn Nee and Rachel Umbrianna for inviting all of the organizations to participate.

Working together is key to this election!

October 7 - GOTV Brockton - Your Vote Matters!

The NAACP Brockton Area Branch hosted a forum on voting titled "Your Vote Matters".

During the event for GOTV, the panelists, Courtney Henderson, Dr. Patricia Jackson and Kevonna Jones Tandon discussed various issues.

The conversation started with an overall discussion on why voters don't show up to the polls even though they are registered to vote. The Panelists encouraged attendees to get out to the polls and informed them of the many ways that there are to vote, including early voting, access to public transportation, and partnerships with Ride transportation services.

From there, there was a discussion about the current slate for presidential candidates and the potential pros and cons for each. Although panelists did not provide who the attendees should vote for, they did provide attendees with information regarding the platform that each presidential candidate stands for in the upcoming election.

Panelists also discussed the importance for attendees to vote in the local elections, as the decisions made by local government have a more direct impact on their every day lives. Panelists took questions from the attendees regarding the importance of voting, the ease of voting, and the impact of the Black vote on the local communities. 

Among our attendees were State Representative Michelle Dubois, City Councilor Jean Derenoncourt, John Buckley, Register of Deeds and Sydne Marrow, Chief of Staff.

On hand was our local historian Willie Wilson, Jr. who discussed the history of voting rights.

A special thanks to the three committees of the Brockton Branch, WIN (Vanessa Nascimento, Frances Adarwark, Keisha Adarwark, Astrid Joseph, Nichole Gaitling, Christine Majemian, Katherine Honey, Linda Campbell; Political Action (Martha Testa, Lucia Shannon and Education (Cathy Jackson) who organized this vital and important event.

Thank you to Brockton Elections Committee, Teenagers Engaging Teen Voters and to Malice Viega and Jonathan Stroud of the library.

Steve Thomasy discussed the 5 questions on the ballot and what a yes or no vote would mean.

The questions:

1. Allow state Auditor's authority to audit the Legislature - A "Yes" vote would authorize the state auditor to audit the state Sente and House of Representatives on Beacon Hill.
2. Elimination of MCAS as High School Requirement -Would repeal the requirement that students must achieve certain competency level on MCAS.
3. Unionizaton for Transportation Network Drivers - The proposed law would provide Transportation drivers with the right to form unions to collectively bargain .
4. Limited Legalization and Regulations of Certain Natural Psychedelic Substances - Proposed law would allow person age 21 and older to grow, possess and use certain natural psychedelic substances in certain circumstances.
5. Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees

- The proposed law would gradually increase the minimum hourly wage an emplpyer pay a tipped worker over the course of five years.

October 21 - The Future is Female!

On October 21st, the NAACP Brockton Area Branch held our “The Future is Female” event at the Brockton Public Library. The event focused on the role of the woman in politics, government, and in positions of leadership. Attendees heard from a panel that included State Representative Rita Mendes, representing the 11th Plymouth District, and Tamisha Civil, Candidate for Governor’s Council. The event was moderated by Dr. Patricia Jackson, chair of the Political Action Committee.

Panelists were asked a series of questions that included insight on their journey into politics, the inspiration behind running for office, and some of the challenges they have faced as they navigate an industry that is predominantly male driven. Panelists provided information about their passion, their determination, and how their desire to advocate for the people that they serve keeps them motivated to move forward. 

Towards the end of the event, attendees were allowed to ask questions of the panelist and provide feedback on measures that they felt would help improve their communities and the process of voting in the upcoming elections. Attendees were also encouraged to ensure that they are registered to vote, to show up on election day, and to encourage at least one other person to vote in this upcoming election.

Dr. Patricia Jackson

Chair, Political Action

October 23 - STEM (Planet Earth Family Fun Night)

The WIN Committee (Women in NAACP) facilitated a successful “Tornado in a Bottle” activity at the Planet Earth Family Fun Night at the Brockton Public Library. The event, part of the 6th annual STEM Week celebration, had a great turnout, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. They were excited to explore STEM careers and activities, inspired by keynote speaker, Channel 5 Meteorologist David Williams, as well as dozens of scientists, researchers, and interactive exhibits.

The children were very engaged with the demonstration and excited about the giveaway which made it possible to recreate the demo at their homes

.

The WIN Commitee was pleased to be invited to participate in this exciting event..

Vanessa Nascimento

Co-Chair, WIN Committee

For your convenience, here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqclnNck6tY

October 24 - Postate Cancer Awareness Event (Virtual) and Live

The NAACP Brockton Area Branch in partnership with AdMetech Foundation have been hosting prostate cancer awareness events since 2014. The events have been well received and have proven to be beneficial.

We are priviledge to have the knowledge and expertise of renowned doctors. Their presentations are second to none.

Here are some comments from our event on October 24th.

Last evenings event was outstanding. Every participant, and their presentation was inspiring, passionate, enlightening and timely. What an impressive group of dedicated people.

Every event brings a wealth of new information and an affirmation that this partnership is thriving in Prostate awareness while celebrating positive health outcomes.

Our programs seem to get better and better. We are a great team and I am so proud to be a part of it. We are making a difference in our community and it doesn’t get any better than that!

______

Our partnership with AdMetech Foundation is so meaningful and appreciated. We truly feel we are making a difference.

We thank Dr. Faina Shtern and Dr. Shawn Wason for their outstanding presentations and their dedication.

Dr. Shtern focused on the Prostate Cancer Equity Program, a new initiative

The program was launched by AdMeTech Foundation, in partnership with leading experts at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Mass General Hospital, and other clinical organizations.

The mission of this program is to save lives, deliver high-quality care and eliminate health inequalities.

Dr. Wason presentation gave an in depth review of advances in screening, diagnosis and treatment. The powerpoint was very detailed and easy to follow.

The testimonials from Darren Duarte and The Roberts family were touching. Their stories offer encouragement.

Thank you Mayor Sullivan for always speaking about the importance of prostate cancer and to Rahsaan Hall who gave his perspective on the prostate equity program and public awareness.

A special thank you to our host, Bishop Tony Branch. who was outstanding.

The NAACP Brockton Area Branch will continue its partnership with AdMetech to bring about prostate cancer awareness.

October 26 - Boxer Outreach Club Blood Drive

The Brockton High School Boxer Outreach Club and the NAACP Brockton Area Branch joined together to host a Blood Drive.



Under the leadership of Brockton High School English teacher and Advisor Yvette Joyce, member of NAACP Brockton Area Branch, this Club accomplishes much in the Brockton area.

The Red Cross set up their equipment at West Middle School on a lovely Fall morning, and folks arrived to generously donate their precious blood.

The articulate and bright BHS students cheerfully welcomed the donors, and helped with the arrangements and flow of The Drive. The NAACP Brockton Area Branch generously provided a much appreciated small and healthy breakfast for the donors, volunteers, and guests. Some of the students donated blood, and brought family members and friends to donate also.

Their wonderful Principal McCaskill also came along with some teachers to give blood, and students were delighted to see them. Then Principal McCaskill headed off to Brockton High where a full Saturday of student activities greeted this energetic man and committed educator!

The mission of The Boxer Outreach Club is to serve their community, and they keep very active helping with a wide variety of service opportunities. The students do admirable work, and their goal of higher education is clearly within the reach of these dedicated and compassionate young people.

No doubt their futures are bright and full of possibility after their years at Brockton High, and it was an honor to work with these delightful students!!

The students look forward to hosting another Blood Drive later in the school year, with more emphasis on blood for Sickle Cell Anemia Patients.

Janet Trask

Chair, Health Committee

ACTSO - If you think you can, then ACT-SO

The ACTSO Competition is underway,. Students 9 to 12 are encourange to compete. Please visit our webstie at naacp-brocktonbranch.org for information or contact presidentphyllis@naacp-brocktonbranch.org.

What is ACT-SO?

The NAACP's Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics is a yearlong achievement program designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students.

ACT-SO includes 30 competitions in STEM, humanities, business,and performing, visual and culinary arts. Almost 300,000 young people have participated from the program since its inception.

Join us! ACTSO is a steppingstone to greatness!

The Brockton Area Branch NAACP is extremely busy. If you would like to join our organization and become a member of any of the active commitees, please contact: presidentphyllis@naacp-brocktonbranch.org

Committees

• ACT-SO - The Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological & Scientific Olympics mentoring program for high school students. With ACT-SO, the NAACP is providing an instrument through which African-American youth are encouraged and inspired toward excellence in academic and cultural pursuits while benefiting from the maximum support of their communities;
• The Committee on Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs shall: (1) seek to establish a working relationship with those agencies in government, national, state and local, having the responsibility in the affairs of members of the various Armed Services and Veterans and to see that the programs to which they are responsible are administered fairly and justly to members of the minority community; (2) study conditions pertaining to veterans and members of the Military Service and their dependents and/or survivors in the community; (3) serve as a center of information on matters affecting the members of the Active Military, Reserves, State National Guard and Veterans; (4) maintain a repository of materials, information and forms to be used in assisting veterans and/or dependents of veterans and military personnel with their problems; (5) receive and act on all complaints relative to acts of discrimination on account of race, color, creed, or denial of benefits to which they are entitled because of discrimination; (6) prepare a quarterly report on committee activities to be submitted to the Executive Committee of the Unit and the National Director of Armed Services and Veterans Affairs.ed Services and Veterans’ Affairs. 
• Education - The Committee on Education shall: (1) seek to eliminate segregation and other discriminatory. practices in public education; (2) study local educational conditions affecting minority groups; (3) investigate the public school system and school zoning; (4) familiarize itself with textbook material there from which racially derogatory; (5) seek to stimulate school attendance; (6) keep informed of school conditions and strive to correct abuses where found; (7) investigate the effects of standardized and high stakes testing practices; (8) teacher certification; (9) promote parental involvement in education; and (10) aim to be a center of popular education on the race question and on the work of the Association.
• Health - The Health Committee shall: (1) work to promote, protect and maintain the health of African Americans; (2) assess the health needs of the community; (3) advocate for equal access to health education, care, treatment and research for all Americans; (4) sponsor health-related activities such as health forums, fairs and workshops highlighting issues of importance to people of color; and (5) support health initiatives of the Association
• Housing - The Committee on Housing shall:) (1) study housing conditions in the local community; (2) receive and seek to address complaints of discrimination; (3) oppose all restrictive practices whether public or private; and (4) disseminate information and render such other assistance which may eliminate discrimination in housing.
• Legal Redress - The Legal Redress Committee shall: (1) investigate all cases reported to it; (2) supervise all litigation in which the Unit is interested; and (3) keep the National Office and the Branch informed on the progress of every case. It shall not give general legal advice.
• Political Action - The Political Action Committee shall: (1) seek to increase registration and voting; (2) work for the enactment of municipal, state and federal legislation designed to improve the educational, political and economic status of minority groups; (3) seek the repeal of racially discriminatory legislation; (4) work to improve the administration of justice; (5) work to secure equal enforcement of the law; and (6) keep the National Office and the Unit informed of all proposed legislation which affects minority groups. The Committee shall be nonpartisan and shall not endorse candidates for public office
• WIN (Women in NAACP) WIN shall address within the framework of the NAACP, civil rights issues affecting women and children and shall carry out other civil and cultural activities to enhance membership and provide financial support to the Branch. The purpose WIN is (1) to enhance the leadership role of women; (2) to serve as an advocacy vehicle to address the social, economic, political, educational, health and welfare issues affecting women; (3) to advocate for the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual development of children and (4) to support the policies as well as the on-going mission and vision of the NAACP. 

Brockton Area Branch NAACP

PO Box 1535

Brockton, MA 02303

(781) 807-1092