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Link to: Biography of Kweisi Mfume, NAACP National President and Chief Executive Officer
FOUNDATION: The NAACP was formed in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens committed to social justice. On February 12, over the signatures of 60 persons, the "Call" was issued for a meeting on the concept of creating an organization that would be an aggressive watchdog of Negro liberties. This event marks the founding of the NAACP.
FOUNDERS: Ida Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. DuBois, Henry Moscowitz, Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villiard, and William English Walling led the "Call" to renew the struggle for civil and political liberty.
STRUCTURE: The NAACP is a network of more than 2,200 branches covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Japan and Germany. They are divided into seven regions and are managed and governed by a National Board of Directors. The NAACP is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Total membership exceeds 500,000.
LEADERSHIP: Kweisi Mfume is the President and Chief Executive Officer and the official spokesperson for the NAACP. The Chairman of the Board is Julian Bond.
PROGRAMS: The following is a summary listing of NAACP National Office activities. Research, development, and program implementation is coordinated by professional and administrative staff.
The following departments handle national operations:
The NAACP Washington Bureau represents one of the primary forces lobbying for civil rights in the nation's capital. The Bureau's activities are directed primarily at the Congress, the Executive Branch and governmental agencies. They may be contacted at:
NAACP, Washington Bureau
1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 1120
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 638-2269
The Crisis Magazine is a publication designed to explore the full spectrum of black thought and concerns. The magazine supports the principles of the NAACP Charter and is included with some NAACP memberships.
Kweisi Mfume, president of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, announced a lawsuit three years in the making against Cracker Barrel.
``We are charging them with systematically discriminating against African-Americans based solely on their race,'' Mfume told reporters.
``They have sought over a number of years to deny black employees desirable job assignments, to deny them promotional opportunities, training and management positions, compensation, benefits and bonuses,'' Mfume said. The suit also alleges that Cracker Barrel tolerates, and sometimes supports, racist comments and behavior.
The suit was filed on July 30, 1999 in the Rome, Georgia division of the U.S. District Court on behalf of 12 current and former employees, five of whom worked in a Dalton Cracker Barrel. The size of the class could be in the tens of thousands.
A companion case, also filed in the Rome court, claims Cracker Barrel does not pay servers minimum wage for performing non-serving duties.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., based in Lebanon, Tennessee, is an operating subsidiary of CBRL Group Inc, and operates 400 restaurants in 38 states.
In 1991 the company fired several employees based on a policy banning homosexual workers. The policy was rescinded after gay-rights groups protested.
The lawsuit asks for a judgment against the company for engaging in systematic racial discrimination and a permanent injunction against future discrimination. The plaintiffs want the court to require Cracker Barrel to restructure its hiring and paying procedures, reimburse attorneys' fees and pay employees back wages. Attorneys for the employees have established a toll-free telephone number for Cracker Barrel workers who believe they have information about incidents of racial discrimination.
BALTIMORE-- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has asked Alabama law enforcement to step up their investigation of the mysterious disappearance of six young Alabama adults last seen May 8. The missing people, ranging in age from 22 to 28-years-old, were last seen riding in a 1986 Chevrolet Caprice near Opp, Ala., in the southeastern part of the state.
Kweisi Mfume, NAACP President and CEO, assigned Nelson B. Rivers III, National Director of Field Operations, to monitor the investigation. Mfume said family members and friends asked the NAACP to press state investigators for details about the case and to find out why it is taking so long to solve.
"Law enforcement is investigating the case, but perhaps more resources are needed," said Mfume. "We think that as a result of our involvement, authorities have stepped up their investigation. A car full of people can’t just vanish into thin air. Somebody must know something."
Rivers, the Rev. R. L. Shanklin, NAACP Alabama State President, and local NAACP officials met yesterday with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI) and Enterprise, Ala. police officials to discuss the case. In addition to the ABI and local police, military personnel from Ft. Rucker have also participated in the search.
Authorities said they now plan to drag the lake outside of Andulsia, Ala. The group was last seen driving away from the Hideaway nightclub near Opp.
Rivers said that he appreciated the very detailed briefing he and other NAACP officials received from the law enforcement authorities. "Whatever the level of investigating prior to our visit, I got the definite impression today that it has been intensified."
Rivers and Shanklin also met with relatives of the missing young people. "It was a very emotional meeting," said Rev. Shanklin. "We tried to communicate as best as we could the deep commitment the NAACP has to finding out what happened to their loved ones."
The missing were identified as Eula Josett Lee, 27; Lamar Junior Stackhouse, 25; Tamara Monique Ward, 22; Valeria Genieta McCoy, 27; Angela Roberts Young, 26; and James Anthony Reynolds, 28. The car they were in is described as faded maroon in color with Alabama license plate 34BM771. Anyone with information should call the Alabama Bureau of Investigation or the local police.
Founded in 1909, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter registration drives and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
Whereas, the Confederate States of America came into being by way of secession from and war against the United States of America out of a desire to defend the right of individual states to maintain an economic system based on slave labor, and
Whereas, the Confederate Battle Flag was raised in the States that comprised the defunct Confederate States of America for the supposed celebration of the Centennial of the War Between the States and as an unspoken symbol of resistance to the battle for civil rights and equality in the early 1960’s, and
Whereas, the Confederate Battle Flag has been embraced as the primary symbol for the numerous modern-day groups advocating white supremacy, and
Whereas, the placement of the Confederate Battle Flag at the South Carolina State House with the flags of two existing governments, the United States of America and the state of South Carolina, implies sovereignty and allegiance to a non-existent nation, and
Whereas, the Confederate Battle Flag in its present position of display makes a statement of public policy that continues to be an affront to the sensibilities and dignity of a majority of African Americans in the state of South Carolina, and
Whereas, the state of South Carolina possesses a unique linkage of heritage and family which makes South Carolina a prime destination for African American family reunions, resulting in tourism dollars that benefit the state of South Carolina, an estimated sixty-eight percent (68%) of all African American family reunions are held in South Carolina, and
Whereas, dollars spent on tourism, conventions and meetings by African Americans, other people of conscience and corporate entities serve to enrich the state of South Carolina, the "Mother State of Secession", which continues to fly the banner of secession
Now Be It Therefore Resolved, that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at its 1999 Annual Convention reaffirms its condemnation of the Confederate Battle Flag being flown over the South Carolina State Capitol and displayed within the South Carolina House and Senate Chambers, and renews its call for the removal and relocation of the Confederate Battle Flag to a place of historical rather than sovereign context
Be It Further Resolved, that all units of the NAACP shall join in the South Carolina Conference of Branches in urging all families planning reunions in South Carolina to consider locations outside of the States as reunion sites until such time that the Confederate Battle Flag is removed from positions of sovereignty in the state of South Carolina
Be It Further Resolved, that the National NAACP shall call upon other African American National Organizations, churches, and faith groups, businesses and corporations, and similar national entities of other cultural compositions that embrace freedom and justice to consider locations other than the state of South Carolina as convention or meeting sites, until such time that the Confederate Battle Flag is removed from positions of sovereignty in the state of South Carolina
Be It Finally Resolved, that the National NAACP shall apply these economic sanctions against the state of South Carolina as well as any further measures as appropriate, commencing January 1, 2000, until such time that the Confederate Battle Flag is no longer displayed in positions of sovereignty in the state of South Carolina.
July 10, 2000
The NAACP Legislative Report Card is a presentation of key civil rights votes cast in both the United States' House and the Senate during the 106th Congress through July 10, 2000. For more information on specific votes, please feel free to contact the NAACP Washington Bureau at (202) 638-2269. Legend: a smiley face is a vote in favor of the NAACP position; a red-bordered frown is a vote against the NAACP position; and a yellow-bordered face means they did not vote on this item. Grading scale: voting 0 to 59% with NAACP gets an F; 60-69% = D; 70 - 79% = C; 80 - 89% = B; 90 - 100% = A. Republicans have their names in italics; Democrats do not.
| U. S. Senator | Grade | V1 | V2 | V3 | V4 | V5 | V6 | V7 | V8 | V9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Phil Gramm |  |
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| Kay Bailey Hutchison | |
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| Senate Key: V1 = Impeachment Vote on Article I, Perjury. V2 = Impeachment Vote on Article II, Obstruction of Justice. V3 = $11.4 billion over 6 years to hire new public school teachers (S. 280). V4 = Congressional Gold Medal to Rosa Parks (S. 531). V5 = Preserve Community Reinvestment Act (S. 900). V6 = Disparate treatment of minority youth by state justice systems (S. 254). V7 = Background checks on gun purchases at pawn shops (S. 254). V8 = Background checks on gun purchases at gun shows (S. 254). V9 = Passage of a weak and inadequate "Patients' Bill of Rights" (S. 1344). V10 = Confirm Judge Ronnie White of Missouri to the federal bench. V11 = Increase the Minimum Wage by $1 over 2 years (S. 265) V12 = Confirm former Senator Carol Moseley-Braun to serve as US Ambassador to New Zealand. V13 = Confirmation of Marsha Berzon to serve as a federal judge. V14 = Confirmation of Richard Paez to serve as a federal judge. V15 = Hate Crimes Prevention Act. | ||||||||||||||||
| U. S. Representative | Grade | V1 | V2 | V3 | V4 | V5 | V6 | V7 | V8 | V9 | 10 | 11 | ||||
| Max Sandlin |  |
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| Jim Turner |  |
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| Sam Johnson | |
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| Ralph Hall | |
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| Pete Sessions | |
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| Joe Barton | |
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| Bill Archer | |
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| Kevin Brady | |
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| Nick Lampson |  |
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| Lloyd Doggett |  |
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| Chet Edwards | |
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| Kay Granger | |
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| Mac Thornberry | |
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| Ron Paul | |
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| Ruben Hinojosa | |
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| Silvestre Reyes | |
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| Charles Stenholm | |
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| Sheila Jackson-Lee | |
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| Larry Combest | |
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| Charles Gonzalez | |
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| Lamar Smith | |
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| Tom DeLay | |
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| Henry Bonilla | |
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| Martin Frost | |
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| Ken Bentsen | |
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| Dick Armey | |
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| Solomon Ortiz | |
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| Ciro Rodriguez | |
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| Gene Green | |
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| Eddie Bernice Johnson | |
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| House Key: V1 = Census Review (H.R. 472). V2 = Congressional Gold Medal to Rosa Parks (H.R. 573). V3 = Condemn the Government of Sudan for Slavery (H. Con. Res. 75). V4 = Increase prosecutorial discretion on fate of juveniles (H.R. 1501). V5 = Reauthorize Community Policing Program (H.R. 1501). V6 = Background check on gun purchases at gun shows (H.R. 2122). V7 = Patients' Bill of Rights (H.R. 2723). V8 = Establishing a school voucher program (H.R. 2). V9 = Two-year increase of the Minimum Wage (H.R. 3846). V10 = Congressional Black Caucus budget substitute (H. Con. Res. 290). V11 = Increase funding for crime prevention programs (H.R. 2670). | ||||||||||||||||
The NAACP's midterm Legislative Report Card of 1999 is a presentation of selected congressional votes taken on key civil rights issues in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives of the 106th Congress. This Report Card of the first session is designed to provide NAACP members and others committed to Justice with insight into the general voting patterns of their congressional delegations.
The votes selected for inclusion in this Report Card are the "bread and butter" civil rights issues of our nation which have been considered on the floor of both the House and Seante. Only legislation voted on by the full body of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives are considered.
This page last updated July 30,2000. Texas NAACP, 1107 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. Telephone (512) 322-9547 or (512) 322-9992. Fax (512) 322-0757. Email.
U. S. Senator/Representative
Grade
V1
V2
V3
V4
V5
V6
V7
V8
V9 Senator Phil Gramm
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Senate Key: V1 = Impeachment Vote on Article I.
V2 = Impeachment Vote on Article II.
V3 = S. 280 (Educational Flexibility/New Teachers).
V4 = S. Con Res. 20 (Minimum Wage Increase).
V5 = S. 531 (Congressional Gold Medal for Rosa Parks).
V6 = S. 900 (Financial Services Overhaul/Restore Community Reinvestment Act).
V7 = S. 254 amendment (Juvenile Crime/Racial Disparity Protection).
V8 = S. 254 amendment (Juvenile Crime/ Background Checks and Waiting Period on Gun Purchases at Pawn Shops).
V9 = S. 254 amendment (Juvenile Crime/ Background Checks on Guns Purchased at Gun Shows).Max Sandlin
Jim Turner
Sam Johnson
Ralph Hall
Pete Sessions
Joe Barton
Bill Archer
Kevin Brady
Nick Lampson
Lloyd Doggett
Chet Edwards
Kay Granger
Mac Thornberry
Ron Paul
Ruben Hinojosa
Silvestre Reyes
Charles Stenholm
Sheila Jackson-Lee
Larry Combest
Charles Gonzalez
Lamar Smith
Tom DeLay
Henry Bonilla
Martin Frost
Ken Bentsen
Dick Armey
Solomon Ortiz
Ciro Rodriguez
Gene Green
Eddie Bernice Johnson
House Key: V1 = HR 472 (Reinstatement of Post Census Review/Passage).
V2 = HR 573 (Congressional Gold Medal for Rosa Parks).
V3 = HR 2122 (Gun Shows/ Three Day Background Check).For More Information
The National NAACP maintains a web site at http://www.naacp.org and can be reached by telephone at 410-521-4939.
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