NAACP suggests removal of battle flag from Alabama trooper uniforms
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An Alabama state trooper stands guard as a pro-Confederate rally is held at the Alabama state capitol building in Montgomery, Ala. on Saturday, June 27, 2015. The rally was held by locals and members of several Southern heritage organizations who oppose the recent removal of Confederate flags from a monument at the capitol honoring Confederate Civil War soldiers. (AP Photo/Ron Harris
An Alabama state trooper stands guard as a pro-Confederate rally is held at the Alabama state capitol building in Montgomery, Ala. on Saturday, June 27, 2015. The rally was held by locals and members of several Southern heritage organizations who oppose the recent removal of Confederate flags from a monument at the capitol honoring Confederate Civil War soldiers. (AP Photo/Ron Harris
(AP) An Alabama chapter of the NAACP says it’s time to remove the Confederate battle flag from state troopers’ uniforms and patrol vehicles.
Rev. Robert Shanklin of the NAACP’s Huntsville chapter told local media the flag is offensive and should not be included in uniforms state troopers wear or on the vehicles they drive. The battle flag is part of the Alabama state seal.
The flag has come under renewed scrutiny since nine black churchgoers were fatally shot during Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina. The man charged in the shooting had been photographed with the flag numerous times.
Some have said the flag represents Southern heritage. Others have said the symbol is divisive and white supremacy is at the heart of the heritage the flag represents.
Slain NAACP field secretary, civil rights leader, World War II veteran, father and husband – Medgar Wiley Evers, was honored Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery in a wreath-laying ceremony, organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP.)
Next week will be the 50th anniversary of the assassin’s bullet that killed patriot and stalwart for civil rights – Medgar Evers, a son of Mississippi. He was respectfully honored Wednesday in a beautiful and well-attended ceremony with distinguished speakers including former President Bill Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder, NAACP Mississippi State Conference President Derrick Johnson, NAACP President Ben Jealous and NAACP Chairman Emeritus Myrlie Evers-Williams. Roland Martin, of TV One and the Tom Joyner Morning Show, presided as Master of Ceremonies. […]
Evers-Williams, who worked for more than 30 years to seek justice for the 1963 murder of her well-known civil rights activist husband, Medgar Evers, is a former chairwoman of the NAACP and is widely credited with restoring the organization’s reputation and saving it from bankruptcy. Most recently, she delivered the invocation at the second inauguration of President Barack Obama, becoming the first woman to deliver a prayer at a presidential inauguration.
“The lifelong work of Dr. Evers-Williams to keep her husband’s memory alive and to progress his dream has been pivotal in the pathway from adoption of laws calling for fairness to the adoption of fairness into our societal expectations and interpersonal relationships,” said Chancellor Dan Jones, who presented the third University of Mississippi Humanitarian Award to the speaker, honoring her and her slain husband’s memory. […]
By BRETT ZONGKER
Associated Press
(AP) WASHINGTON – The NAACP’s board is forming a search committee to find the next president and CEO for the nation’s largest civil rights organization, its chairwoman said Monday.
Chairwoman Roslyn Brock said during a conference call that she expects the change in leadership to be an orderly transition. Outgoing NAACP President Benjamin Jealous also used the call to elaborate on his desire to spend time with his children, a reason he cited in his announcement the previous day. His departure is effective Dec. 31.
Brock says the board is disappointed Jealous is leaving after five years during which he was credited with boosting the organization’s finances and increasing stability… […]
