We are sincerely grateful for the expressions of faith, hope, and love shown by the cards, letters, phone calls and monetary support for our mission.  At this time, we are unable to respond personally to each individual outpouring of support. The compassion, caring, and generosity of so many of you who are united in the belief that ALL people are created equal has given us further momentum to continue our struggle for justice and equality for ALL.

Janette B. Martin, President

Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP

Diversity Luncheon

The presidents of the National, Virginia State Conference of the NAACP, and the Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP have issued the following joint statement regarding the senseless racist hate rally, violence and loss of life in Charlottesville, Virginia:

“As people can see now very clearly, not voting has consequences,” stated Janette Martin, president of the Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP. "On numerous occasions the city of Charlottesville has spent thousands of dollars to support KKK rallies – and city merchants have expressed their dissatisfaction with the loss of revenue that occurs during these rallies." Martin added. "Violence did not have to be demonstrated in order to express freedom of speech. It appears that free speech was secondary to their main purpose which was to wreak havoc and violence in the community.They have been emboldened by the words and vocabulary of elected officials at the highest levels."  Martin concluded, " we commend the people of faith here in Charlottesville for working hard to set a moral tone, and sacrificing themselves and their safety to drown out the message of hate especially as we have students and parents returning to the UVA campus for the start of the school year."

“The terrible incidence of violence in Charlottesville is a painful reminder of the  blatant racism, unbridled lynchings and other violence against citizens of African descent that permeated the history of this country,” said Linda Thomas, president of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. "This goes to the very core of the existence of the NAACP and our continuing struggle against forces of hate." 

 "White supremacists and today’s purveyors of hate should find no shadows in which to hide. Our forefathers shed blood so that in 2017, this type of violence would be a footnote of the past." Added Thomas, "We applaud our governor, Terry McAuliffe, whose statement today is in alignment with the NAACP mission. And we encourage the Governor to use the full force of his executive powers to eradicate race based barriers in all areas of life within the state. The Virginia State Conference will remain steadfast in our advocacy and activism as we push forward in our fight for legislative changes, expansion of voting rights and sound public policies that equally serve and protect all citizens within the commonwealth. And we will persist until we drive racism, and racist behavior from our midst." 

“We call on President Trump to denounce this act as an act of terrorism and condemn the repeated rhetoric which has helped to fuel this climate of division and derision,” said Derrick Johnson, interim president and CEO of the NAACP. “ Our hearts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives in Charlottesville. We stand firm with our commitment to acknowledge our differences, to embrace them as the richness of the American mosaic and we’ll continue to lead the fight for the right to peaceably assemble.”

Direct Advocacy Training flyer

The NAACP regularly trains its members, volunteers, and citizens in communities in Virginia and America about how to properly conduct meaningful community -based Direct Advocacy activities.

Direct Advocacy training sessions are opportunities for like–minded citizens to come together and better understand how to let their unified voices be heard about specific topics, community concerns and at times the not-so-nice actions and ideas of others.

During Direct Action training participants are provided instructions on how to properly ensure that their unified presence has a positive impact in their communities, and voices are heard in opposition to negative ideas and actions of others while keeping themselves out of harm’s way-if needed.

As well, Direct Advocacy training participants are counseled on very active, yet peaceful, involvement in public discourse and dialog as methods to sway the opinions and ideas of others.

The NAACP does not at all promote nor condone aggressive actions, confrontation nor vile acts by anyone!

In conducting a local Direct Advocacy training session, the Albemarle- Charlottesville NAACP is pleased to respond to many calls by our members, along with scores of very concerned citizens, who have asked us to help them better understand how to properly respond to past and upcoming groups who have come into the Albemarle- Charlottesville community.

Janette B. Martin, President

ALBEMARLE-CHARLOTTESVILLE NAACP

Dear Members :

I would like to remind everyone that we do have a protocol for presenting issues to the President and the Executive Committee. The Secretary shared copies of the procedure at the April meeting. (A reminder of the accepted protocol is below).

We definitely are interested in the concerns of our members, and we will respond to your concerns after reviewing what they might be. One thing to remember, we are  a civil rights organization!

I apologize for not reminding members who were not present when we discussed the protocol in earlier meetings, and, for our new members, we need to make sure that you are aware of the process. This process allows an opportunity for all members to have a voice, and avoids the monopolizing of time by more vocal members.

We find that once we abide by NAACP rules, whether or not we agree with them, it serves to allow us to operate in an orderly and productive manner.

We are currently making plans for our major fund raising event for the year, the Freedom Fund Banquet. I sincerely hope that all members will be active in supporting this event. More information regarding the Freedom Fund Banquet  will be sent to members. If you have questions, please let our Secretary know. I appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

Janette Boyd Martin, President

ENCLOSURE: 

MOTION (Protocol) 

1)  Every resolution must be in writing, and presiding officers in their sole discretion, may require any main motion, amendment, or instructions to a committee to be in writing.

2) If the membership desires to transact business out of the order specified in the agenda, it is necessary to suspend the rules, which requires a two-thirds vote to carry.  A motion to suspend the rules is not required to be in writing.  2/3 members present

3) Business may be postponed, in the sole discretion of presiding officers, to permit referral of the matter to the Executive Committee at its next scheduled meeting.  Any postponed business will be taken up at the following general meeting of the membership as an item of unfinished business.

4) The following is the regular order of business for general meetings of the membership.  Agendas shall be approved by a majority vote of the membership at the start of each general meeting of the membership.
  (1) Approval of the agenda
  (2) Reading the Minutes of the previous meeting (and their approval).
  (3) Reports of Boards and Standing Committees.
  (4) Reports of Special (Select) Committees.
  (5) Unfinished Business
  (6) New Business