National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Jan 9 2012
She was 81

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Funeral services will be held Saturday for Geraldine Washington, a prominent Los Angeles civil rights leader whose death was confirmed today by the local arm of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Washington died last Thursday of natural causes at the age of 81, NAACP spokeswoman Joy Atkinson said. She had been ill for several years and suffered from a form of dementia, the spokewoman said.

Jun 7 2011

Section 8

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—An Antelope Valley community group sued Lancaster and Palmdale officials today, alleging the cities engaged in practices meant to drive out Black and Latino residents.

The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on behalf of the Community Action League, the California State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and two unidentified residents who allegedly faced racial discrimination.

Feb 24 2011

Activist

Before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Ala., 15-year-old Claudette Colvin had refused to yield her seat to a White passenger on March 2, 1955, and was arrested.

Parks’ similar act followed on December 1 of the same year.

Born Sept. 5, 1939, Colvin understood early what injustice was.

According to one report, she had been inspired by her ancestors who endured and fought the institution of slavery.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Dec 23 2010

Segregation creeping back nationally

The NAACP recently held its first national summit on education in more than three years after determining that there was an extreme need to address what it feels is the resegregation of schools across the country.

The organization met for three days last week in Raleigh, N.C., to discuss comprehensive education reform and the Department of Justice investigation of school district policies relating to resegregation.

Dec 16 2010

No-bid contract

Many of Philadelphia’s Black leaders voiced support for School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman after she controversially awarded a no-bid contract to a minority-owned company, saying she was making sure African Americans were included in district contracts that are usually monopolized by White-owned firms. "When an administration attempts to right such a grotesque imbalance in spending public dollars they should be applauded and not maligned,” said J.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.