Sunday, August 31, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Come Celebrate 95th
The Seattle King County Branch of the NAACP is the oldest branch west of the Mississippi River. Over the course of our 95 years of service to the greater Seattle area, we have worked to end discrimination in housing, employment, political participation, health, and criminal justice. We will continue to work to bring inequitable treatment to an end.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR
We will be holding our 95th anniversary fund raiser on November 15, 2008. We would love to see you there. Please save this date and we will be sending more information soon.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR
We will be holding our 95th anniversary fund raiser on November 15, 2008. We would love to see you there. Please save this date and we will be sending more information soon.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
ACT-SO Competition
Finals and award presentations for the 2008 ACT-SO Program is April 26, 2008, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center at 10:00 am until 1:00 pm. Please let every high school student in grades 9-12 that you come in contact with know it is not too late to be a part of this year's program. All they need to do is show up with a science project, song, poem, drawing, dance, painting, original essay, photography, or sculpture and get it judged. The time limit for all presentations is five (5) minutes. ACT-SO continues to strive for excellence in our students and encourage them to take advantage of all opportunities to showcase their talents. This year the first place winners will be going to Disney World to represent the Seattle King County Branch at the National ACT-SO. We are still in need of a few judges (science, painting, drawing, humanities, and music), while searching for a few of our past judges we have lost contact with. If you wish to be a judge, please contact the NAACP office at 206-324-6600. If you know or see Simeon Rhoden, Quinton Morris or Marlette Buchanan ask them to get in touch with ACT-SO at the above number.
Youth Violence Prevention Network
The Youth Violence Prevention Network is an organization dedicated to helping youth find creative solutions to violence in their communities. I have had the pleasure of attending these meetings and am greatly impressed with the level of thought that is put into creating an environment in which all people are respected and valued. For more information about this wonderful organization contact (206) 937-0210 or visit them on the web at www.youthviolence-prevention.org.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Free Gerald Hankerson
Dear Governor Gregoire:
Our Washington State Constitution asserts a belief in the rehabilitation of its felons as demonstrated by the very fact that it vested our State's governor with the pardoning power. Further, to assist the governor in the wise exercise of this power it created the Clemency Board; to review and commute the sentences of offenders in the most extraordinary of cases. On June 7, 2006, the Clemency Board voted unanimously in just such a case, and recommended clemency for Gerald Hankerson. In response to the Clemency Board's exceptionally favorable counsel, you "arrived at a different conclusion." This letter, on behalf of your community's leaders and the friends of Gerald Hankerson, and based upon the criteria herein, formally requests a reconsideration of your decision in order to balance the scales of justice.
Clemency empowers our State's Governor to pardon a person convicted of a crime or commute the sentence of a felon, often to time already served. Commutation reduces a criminal sentence. A pardon strikes the conviction from the books as if it never occurred, effectively wiping the slate clean. Gerald Hankerson is not asking for a clean slate per se, but fairness in sentencing. Gerald holds himself accountable for his involvement in the crime, but who, within our legal system, do we hold accountable for faulty jury instructions? By dropping the aggravating factor from his sentence, Gerald would be a candidate for the Department of Corrections Mutual Agreement Program (MAP). MAP is specifically tailored to offenders serving sentences for first-degree murder as a means to supervise an offender's transition back into the community. And the community would only benefit from Gerald's return.
Gerald has conducted himself in a manner both above and beyond what one would expect of a prisoner, and his positive demeanor is not typical among inmates. For a number of years, Gerald has had no serious infractions, has the maximum number of custody points, and is at the lowest security level possible for his sentence. Gerald has paid all his restitution and court fees, and has participated in numerous programs to benefit and better himself and others such as the Concerned Lifers Organization and Youths at Risk. Gerald has a positive and extensive support network in place as evidenced by the turnout at his clemency hearing; even the Clemency Board itself commented that they had never seen such an outpouring of support. Community leaders, councilmen, family and friends, all have invested a lot of time and effort in Gerald. He has a guaranteed four year college scholarship should he want to study, and he has a job with Korum Motors waiting for him. Most importantly he has good friends to turn to and guide him.
If our prison systems are intended to rehabilitate those incarcerated, to restore them to a useful life through therapy, education, and specialty programs to such a degree that they are able to contribute to themselves and become productive members of society, then our prison system has succeeded with Gerald Hankerson. But by denying his clemency, what message has now been sent to the rest of the prison population? What are they going to take from this decision? That positive change doesn't matter? That hard work and participation in state endorsed programs won't help their circumstances? That a unanimous decision by the Clemency Board means nothing?
Forgiveness, leniency, compassion, mercy: these words are the very definition of clemency. The reason you are reading this request today is not because of Gerald, but because of us, your constituents. Gerald would never have considered applying for clemency on his own accord; forgiveness seemed well beyond the realm of possibility. At our insistence he reached for the impossible by asking for leniency, and succeeded, unanimously so. We have seen Gerald grow over the decades, for indeed, a transformation of this magnitude is not one that happens overnight. Gerald's journey along this road of change has been a long and challenging one, and our compassion for him has never faltered. Mercy to those who have redeemed themselves is the right thing to do, and the very reason why clemency was established.
Often the most arduous task a leader must undertake, or the most difficult decision a leader has to make, is the morally correct one. We, the below signed petitioners, urge you, Governor Gregoire, to accept your Clemency Board's recommendation. Please reconsider this clemency based upon what is ethically, morally, and justifiably correct by Gerald S. Hankerson.
Our Washington State Constitution asserts a belief in the rehabilitation of its felons as demonstrated by the very fact that it vested our State's governor with the pardoning power. Further, to assist the governor in the wise exercise of this power it created the Clemency Board; to review and commute the sentences of offenders in the most extraordinary of cases. On June 7, 2006, the Clemency Board voted unanimously in just such a case, and recommended clemency for Gerald Hankerson. In response to the Clemency Board's exceptionally favorable counsel, you "arrived at a different conclusion." This letter, on behalf of your community's leaders and the friends of Gerald Hankerson, and based upon the criteria herein, formally requests a reconsideration of your decision in order to balance the scales of justice.
Clemency empowers our State's Governor to pardon a person convicted of a crime or commute the sentence of a felon, often to time already served. Commutation reduces a criminal sentence. A pardon strikes the conviction from the books as if it never occurred, effectively wiping the slate clean. Gerald Hankerson is not asking for a clean slate per se, but fairness in sentencing. Gerald holds himself accountable for his involvement in the crime, but who, within our legal system, do we hold accountable for faulty jury instructions? By dropping the aggravating factor from his sentence, Gerald would be a candidate for the Department of Corrections Mutual Agreement Program (MAP). MAP is specifically tailored to offenders serving sentences for first-degree murder as a means to supervise an offender's transition back into the community. And the community would only benefit from Gerald's return.
Gerald has conducted himself in a manner both above and beyond what one would expect of a prisoner, and his positive demeanor is not typical among inmates. For a number of years, Gerald has had no serious infractions, has the maximum number of custody points, and is at the lowest security level possible for his sentence. Gerald has paid all his restitution and court fees, and has participated in numerous programs to benefit and better himself and others such as the Concerned Lifers Organization and Youths at Risk. Gerald has a positive and extensive support network in place as evidenced by the turnout at his clemency hearing; even the Clemency Board itself commented that they had never seen such an outpouring of support. Community leaders, councilmen, family and friends, all have invested a lot of time and effort in Gerald. He has a guaranteed four year college scholarship should he want to study, and he has a job with Korum Motors waiting for him. Most importantly he has good friends to turn to and guide him.
If our prison systems are intended to rehabilitate those incarcerated, to restore them to a useful life through therapy, education, and specialty programs to such a degree that they are able to contribute to themselves and become productive members of society, then our prison system has succeeded with Gerald Hankerson. But by denying his clemency, what message has now been sent to the rest of the prison population? What are they going to take from this decision? That positive change doesn't matter? That hard work and participation in state endorsed programs won't help their circumstances? That a unanimous decision by the Clemency Board means nothing?
Forgiveness, leniency, compassion, mercy: these words are the very definition of clemency. The reason you are reading this request today is not because of Gerald, but because of us, your constituents. Gerald would never have considered applying for clemency on his own accord; forgiveness seemed well beyond the realm of possibility. At our insistence he reached for the impossible by asking for leniency, and succeeded, unanimously so. We have seen Gerald grow over the decades, for indeed, a transformation of this magnitude is not one that happens overnight. Gerald's journey along this road of change has been a long and challenging one, and our compassion for him has never faltered. Mercy to those who have redeemed themselves is the right thing to do, and the very reason why clemency was established.
Often the most arduous task a leader must undertake, or the most difficult decision a leader has to make, is the morally correct one. We, the below signed petitioners, urge you, Governor Gregoire, to accept your Clemency Board's recommendation. Please reconsider this clemency based upon what is ethically, morally, and justifiably correct by Gerald S. Hankerson.
Friday, December 7, 2007
UW Retains Coach Willingham
The Seattle King County NAACP supports the University of Washington's decision to retain Tyrone Willingham as it's head football coach for at least one more year. During his tenure, Coach Willingham has repeatedly demonstrated that he has the qualities that will lead the University of Washington back to national prominence. Perhaps, more importantly, Coach Willingham has demonstrated that the future of his student athletes are of great importance him. Coach Willingham's incredible work ethic, discipline and character is exactly the sort of example that we all should be following.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Community Meeting 10/22/07 at 6:30 (Seattle Urban League Building)
The Seattle Martin Luther King County Jr. NAACP will be holding its monthly community meeting on Monday, October 22 at the Seattle Urban League. This meeting will address issues relating to police and community member interactions. This is intended to inform community members of their rights when it comes to interacting with law enforcement.
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