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2023-2024 LEADERSHIP OF THE NEWARK DE BRANCH

​OFFICERS                                                                 

Dr. Freeman Williams, President                              

Rev. Blaine Hackett, 1st Vice President                       
Richard Williams, Sr., 2nd Vice President

Dr. Joan Gregory, 3rd Vice President              
Tiffany Matthews, Secretary

Glen Schmiesing, Assisstant Secretary                                       

Susan Mitchell, Treasurer                             

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                                                                       Click here for the history of the NAACP

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We are a 501(c)4, not-for-profit, non-partisan organization. General contributions are not tax deductible.  Contact us for additional information.

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OUR MISSION

Our mission is to achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination, and accelerate the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all persons of color.

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                                                               VISION STATEMENT
We envision an inclusive community rooted in liberation where all persons can exercise their civil and human rights without discrimination.

                                                                                           Objectives
The following statement of objectives is found on the first page of the NAACP Constitution – the principal objectives of the Association shall be:

• To ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all citizens

• To achieve equality of rights and eliminate race prejudice among the citizens of the United States

• To remove all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes

• To seek enactment and enforcement of federal, state, and local laws securing civil rights

• To inform the public of the adverse effects of racial discrimination and to seek its elimination

• To educate persons as to their constitutional rights and to take all lawful action to secure the exercise thereof, and to take any other lawful action in furtherance of these objectives, consistent with the NAACP’s Articles of Incorporation and this Constitution.

 

NEWARK DELAWARE BRANCH NAACP, OUR HISTORY CONTINUES

Newark Branch NAACP gives tribute to the former long-time members Jane and Lit Mitchell who re-activated the Branch in 1992. They taught us the meaning of "shall do, not may do", which places emphasis on “doing” the work of the Branch, which is a calling and is not optional.

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The Newark Delaware Branch of the NAACP continues to be a voice for the greater Newark and New Castle communities in the struggle against injustice in housing, education, employment, mass incarceration and everywhere discrimination arises in the social, economic and environmental arenas.

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The Branch has a long history representing the community against discrimination from the days when the Ku Klux Klan was a visible threat to more recent times when hatred and discrimination, once subtle,  have come out of the shadows.

We are engaged in improving our education system, including advancing educational equity and fair treatment of children within our public schools and in higher education. We are currently working with the University of Delaware to encourage them to utilize a portion of the substantial funds that they from the State of Delaware to develop programs for low-income and minority student retention. The University should be directed to increase recruitment of low-income and minority students, particularly targeting Delaware students.

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Our branch continues to expand our Youth Council membership, inviting all youth from birth through age 24 to be a new generation of voices against inequality and injustice. We are active in the preservation of the Black community in Newark and in their resistance to gentrification and the influx of student housing in historic black neighborhoods.

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We are involved in the fight for environmental justice and disparities in citing sources of pollution in low income and minority communities for the protection of health and quality of life, including the efforts to protect the community from the noxious odors at Peninsula Compost, and the redevelopment of Cleveland Heights, now Alder Creek, to protect the community from contaminated land resulting from the site’s former use as a municipal landfill and wastewater treatment plant.

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We advocate for healthy and safe communities. The recent redevelopment of the Cleveland Heights public housing project into the new low income housing development Alder Creek raised a historic concern with the safety of the point of ingress/egress on Cleveland Avenue. We advocated for pedestrian and bicycle safety measures on Cleveland Avenue to improve accessibility, reduce the potential for accidents, and encourage healthy outdoor exercise.

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We opposed the use of foreclosure/mortgage settlement funds to balance the state budget and presented an alternative 10-point plan for the administration of these by the State of Delaware to provide direct assistance to those who were directly harmed by the foreclosure crisis.

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We send  delegations to the annual NAACP convention and participate in the policy-setting agenda for the national organization.

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When the Voting Rights Act turned 50  we were proud to join our allies at the Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement, Common Cause of Delaware, and the Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club in an event to celebrate this important legislation and to outline the challenges ahead to improve voting access.

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​Each year for more than a decade we support local community members during the holidays and this past year was no exception.  Donations made to our Branch are matched by the Branch to the extent possible to make every dollar go further.

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We have developed relationships and co-sponsored programs with The Coalition to Dismantle the New Jim Crow, The League of Women Voters of New Castle County, Network Delaware and the YWCA.

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We invite you to become a part of our branch’s history by becoming a member and participating in our efforts.