Candidates discuss moving the N.C. NAACP forward
By Melinda Harrell
Published in News on August 28, 2017 5:50 AM
Full Size
News-Argus/MELINDA HARRELL
Candidates listen to moderator Tyler Swanson during the forum Sunday. From left are the Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, the Rev. Dr. Portia Rochelle, Derrick Smith, Ana Blackburn, Timothy Hodges and Courtney Patterson.
As the North Carolina NAACP looks to elect new leadership at its upcoming state conference, two local chapters sought to better know the candidates running for the offices Sunday during a candidates forum at St. James AME Zion Church.
The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber will be stepping down as the N.C. NAACP president. Barber, who is pastor at Greenleaf Christian Church, spearheaded the Moral Monday Movement that has earned national attention.
With such large shoes to fill, the Goldsboro-Wayne and Johnston County branches of the NAACP wanted their delegates to the state conference to have as much information as possible before casting their ballots, said Dr. Gettys Cohen Jr., who has been president of the Johnston County Branch of the NAACP for eight years.
"This is our re-election year," he said.
"And many of us -- not me but other members -- are not familiar with who they are and how they intend to move the organization forward."
Cohen also impressed upon the forum participants, which were two presidential, a first vice-presidential and three fourth vice-presidential candidates, the value of how they articulate their focus.
"Our candidates, they look good today," he said.
"We hope you inspire us with something we can use to go into the voting booths."
Nearly 50 people were in the fellowship hall of St. James, some of whom are delegates and some of whom are members of the two branches.
The Rev. Dr. Wendy May, a delegate from the Johnston County branch, was hoping to get insight into what each candidate would bring to the table if they were elected.
"This is more of an educational format, so we can learn about the candidates," she said.
Goldsboro-Wayne branch alternate delegate Eloise Upchurch attended the forum to see who would continue to make progress for the N.C. NAACP.
"I am hoping to learn which one would be qualified in leading us forward and not backward," she said.
"I am here to see what they have to offer."
She said she was looking for candidates to "take care of the issues at hand, while being fair and showing justice to all mankind."
Sylvia Barnes, president of the Goldsboro-Wayne branch, encouraged people who were not delegates to go back to their respective branches and inform their members about the candidates.
WHO ARE THE
CANDIDATES?
PRESIDENTIAL
The Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman
Spearman said he has been a member of the NAACP for 50 years with his father making him a lifelong member while they were living in New York state.
He has been serving in the North Carolina NAACP for 20 years.
"I have been very much involved," he said. He has served as president of the Hickory branch; served as the religious affairs chair for the state conference; and has served for six years as the state's third vice president.
"I have immersed myself in the movement," he said.
"I was the second arrestee out of the thousands in the Moral Movement." He has also been a plaintiff on three pieces of litigation, which include complaints of voter suppression.
"I want to see us go forward together and not take one step back. I want to continue the glorious movement we have all been a part of."
He said he intended to look at the diversity of needs on the local branch levels and offer educational forums to better equip the branches for organization.
Spearman also touts diversification of the NAACP to keep the group relevant and thriving.
"In the beginning, the NAACP was very diverse," he said.
"And, where it is going now, it is going back to those times."
The Rev. Dr. Portia Rochelle
Rochelle said she has served as the Raleigh/Apex branch president for nine years and been a participant in the Moral Marches and been to various events and played a supportive role.
"I love the NAACP," she said.
"When I joined, I began working and have been working ever since."
She said -- if she were elected as the state's president -- she would spearhead a "school for social justice" at individual branches across the state to educate members on how to approach issues, whether it be at the board of education or the county commissioners.
Rochelle also said she would work to build relationships and encourage connection with the NAACP.
"We know that the NAACP and other organizations are criticized," she said.
"We need to build relationships, build faith coalitions and have public forums. We must make sure we are visible. We should speak about and uplift the NAACP and educate."
Rochelle also intends to court the millennial generation through teaching and training, so that the organization does not wane by attrition.
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
Derrick Smith
Smith is a professor at NC A&T and lives in Greensboro.
"The NAACP is a perfect fit for me," he said.
"I come from the generation when the NAACP was a grassroots effort -- the time with Medgar Evers -- and have watched what the NAACP become what it is today. Under Rev. Barber, I watched the organization shift."
Smith said in the western part of the state, the branches of the NAACP are more populated with white members. He said he believes the shift in the branches' demographics are in large part due to Barber's message of "the interconnection of our destiny."
Smith said that is important in building the organization and subsequently, the movement.
"We need to bring more people to the Forward Together movement," he said.
FOURTH VICE PRESIDENT
Ana Blackburn
Blackburn serves as the N.C. NAACP Latino liaison currently.
She is originally from New York and has lived in Chicago, where she served as an inner-city missionary. She also served as a firefighter for 20 years.
Blackburn has participated in the Moral Movement, and she, too, has been arrested for her participation.
Blackburn said she wanted to continue to develop a relationship between the NAACP and the Latino community and keep moving the organization forward.
"As things in the state change it is important to grow," she said.
"It can grow through great leadership skills and can move forward and continue the success of the N.C. NAACP."
Timothy Hodges
Hodges is from Clayton and has served as the president of the Johnston County branch in the past.
He said he wanted to focus on the recognition of the NAACP as being a non-governmental agency by the United Nations.
"I believe that is something that we neglect," he said.
"That is my biggest goal and biggest vision for the state NAACP."
He also said, should he be elected, he would help change some things within the organization.
"I don't mind getting my hands dirty," Hodges said.
"And I don't take no for an answer. We have got to stop turning people away without making an effort to address their issues. If we move slow, that's how we lose people. We need to follow our Constitution and do what we say and say what we do."
Courtney Patterson
Patterson said he has been involved with the NAACP since the 1960s.
He has served as the Kinston-Lenoir County branch president for six years and currently serves as the N.C. NAACP fourth vice president, a role he has been in for the last six years.
"I worked with bishop Barber to raise money and writing grants," he said.
"I also work to make sure we stay in compliance with those grants."
Patterson has also been a participant in voter education and registration programs.
"I am no stranger to the NAACP," he said.
"I want to still serve as your fourth vice president, if you choose to elect me."
The second vice president and third vice president seats are uncontested.