Add African-American voices to law

From the Charlottesville Daily Progress Letters to the Editor, January 30, 2015

After reading The Daily Progress story “Albemarle supervisors agree to fund extra attorney for county commonwealth’s attorney’s office” (Daily Progress, 2015 January 7), and after subsequently visiting the Albemarle County and Charlottesville commonwealth’s attorney’s offices to inquire about the presence of African-American attorneys, I learned that neither office presently has any African-American attorneys.

This is an excellent opportunity to remind both Albemarle County’s commonwealth’s attorney, Denise Lunsford, and Charlottesville’s commonwealth’s attorney, Dave Chapman, that if they believe in racial diversity they should consider hiring African-American attorneys in these very important offices.

If they are to adhere to the mission of their offices — which is dedicated to pursing justice and protecting the rights and safety of the citizens of Albemarle and Charlottesville and their visitors — then they should include a racially diverse team of attorneys that reflects the diversity in the county’s and city’s population.

Mission statements talk about how the offices aspire to enforce criminal laws in a fair, compassionate, ethical and just manner. That’s a very important aspiration. But those are subjective terms, and what is fair, just or compassionate often depends on one’s perspective and background.

The commonwealth’s attorney’s offices — and all of the law offices in Albemarle and Charlottesville — therefore would benefit from having on their legal teams attorneys who come from a similar racial background as many of the people they represent or otherwise encounter in the criminal justice system.

Coming from similar background, an attorney might be able to better understand a broader array of the social dynamics that result in the disproportionately high rate of interaction that Africans-Americans and other people of color have with the criminal justice system, as well as the unique set of challenges that they may face.

That perspective would seem to be very valuable in many aspects of the duties of the commonwealth’s attorney’s office, such as determining how best to prevent crime from happening in the first place, negotiating settlements, and determining the most suitable and effective punishment when crime has occurred.

In short, such attorneys could bring to the table an important perspective of what constitutes fairness, justice and compassion, and could help the commonwealth, city, county and all the law offices fulfill their mandate to prosecute and handle issues of justice with integrity, equality and excellence.

M. Rick Turner
Charlottesville

NAACP report: Born Suspect

Born Suspect: Stop-and-Frisk Abuses & the Continued Fight to End Racial Profiling in America

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NAACP’s groundbreaking report opens a renewed dialogue about racial profiling by law enforcement in America. This conversation includes a call to action for NAACP members to work toward ending this ineffective policing practice across the country.

NAACP Health Department Updates (September 2014)

Monday, September 29, 2014

Greetings All,

We hope all is well. For those who attended the NAACP 105th National Convention, we hope you had a wonderful time in Las Vegas, NV. We hope you enjoyed the exhibit hall, plenary sessions, speakers and all that Las Vegas had to offer. Next year, the NAACP Convention will be in Philadelphia, PA. We hope to see you there.

This year, the NAACP Health Department is working in partnership with the American Heart Association and The Safe Routes to School National Partnership. At the 105th Annual Convention, the Health Department hosted a meet and greet that featured each of these partners and opportunities work surrounding childhood obesity advocacy through Voices for Healthy Kids. The NAACP Health Department’s childhood obesity advocacy efforts are taking place in: Mississippi, New York, and Tennessee. We encourage each of you to either develop or join an existing coalition to increase access to healthier foods, address school-based policies, and find creative ways to increase physical activity in your local communities. At the NAACP 105th Annual Convention, the NAACP passed a resolution that address the built environment and for NAACP units to increase safe spaces for children and adults to engage in physical activity. Continue reading

Daily Progress LTE: Few black history observances

A recent walk through the halls of the historic Jefferson School — now the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center— left me sorely disappointed. One would think that in February, the one time when many communities’ schools, organizations and institutions celebrate and honor Black History Month — the tenants of this historic building would make a point of showing the community that they care about the past and present contributions of African-Americans to our country’s greatness. Continue reading

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAACP from the Region VII

Dear Region VII Family,

 On Februday12, 2014 the NAACP celebrates its 105th Birthday. Since 1909 our mission of fighting for justice and equality has remained the same, but the tactics we use to achieve victory continue to evolve. In 2014, we know many of our battles and victories will take place in state houses, city halls and school board chambers across Region VII and the nation. As we fight these local and state battles, communication is key to ensuring wins in 2014 and beyond. Continue reading