April, 2025 Newsletter
Historical Civil Rights Organizations and Their Current Impacts on the Communities They Serve
From the desk of Betty Williams, President
Are historical civil rights organizations still holding true to their original missions and focus?
My character and my successes as a professional, as a leader and Black woman were constantly attacked, simply for me challenging my aggressor and running for his position as President for the California State NAACP. I (and many others) have filed harassment and retaliation complaints for years without response from the National Office. To this day, we still only hear crickets.
My story made national news, and the shame I felt was almost unbearable. However, through emails, text messages and phone calls from all over the country, I learned of many more stories similar to what I’ve witnessed first-hand. There is a growing number of suspended NAACP members and supporters sharing their experiences, so I decided to organize and create a contact system to maintain good communication and collaboration. We connected weekly, then appeared on the Roland Martin Show where we were able to share with a broader audience, and I thank God for quality, unapologetically Black-Owned media groups that are unafraid to speak our truths!
We received an email from the NAACP Branch in Boulder, Colorado that has decided to disband its NAACP Branch due to repeated harassment from local law enforcement and misconduct and lack of support from the National NAACP, and others constantly attacking their branch (see attached letter). This letter took an enormous amount of courage and bravery to make this bold decision to terminate their branch.
Please understand that organizations like my creation of the National African American Civil Rights Organization (NAACRO) aimed to serve needs that are severely undermet. We invite the Boulder Colorado community and all others who would like to grow and evolve with us, especially during this critical time for our country.
Now to be clear, many of us are not against the principles or the mission of the NAACP; it is the misconduct that interferes with justice that we condemn. There are branches doing many great things and quality work within their respective communities. There’s a saying in the association, that “membership is the life blood of the NAACP”. However, this “blood of the NAACP” was composed of branches receiving only 40% of $30 memberships, at $11.90 per year, per member. That translates to $11.90 annually for each member for unit sustainability.
There was also no branch foundational support for things like relevant training, websites, marketing, offices, maintenance and basic supplies. These things also came out of the pockets of the volunteers who kept branches running. Many good people continue to overcome these short-comings, and they deserve respect and support from the organizations they uphold. Dealing with internal struggles as well as trying to meet the needs of the community can be overwhelming. We need to support our own on the front lines battling injustice. Period.
So, yes, I have the audacity to create an alternative and purposeful civil rights organization to provide an outlet and an empowered voice for those who need it most, and I aim to do that with the best of my abilities, and with others who share the same passion.
If you’re interested in knowing more about NAACRO, please visit our website and be added to our email list. We look forward to hearing from you.
In solidarity and with God’s blessings,
Madam President Betty Williams
(Letter from the Boulder, CO Branch of the NAACP)
March 28, 2025
Dear Beloved Members, Donors, and Friends of NAACP Boulder County Branch,
It is with profound sadness that we announce the dissolution of the NAACP Boulder County Branch.
Our decision comes in the wake of persistent retaliation from the City of Boulder. The city manager, police leaders, and associated governmental entities have actively sought to suppress and undermine our efforts toward racial equity. These tactics, well-known for their authoritarian and racist nature, have included division, co-opting, isolation, spreading false rumors, character assassination, and threats of legal action. The aim has been clear: to remove the leadership of NAACP Boulder and reshape our Branch into a powerless symbolic entity that serves the city’s interests rather than the community’s—one that provides mere performative gestures, a prop for inclusion, rather than real empowerment. The fact that Boulder City officials would and did so brazenly involve themselves in the governance of NAACP Boulder County, a unit of the oldest civil rights organization in the country, is truly outrageous and should deeply trouble all of us.
The struggle for racial justice demands that we not be silent and complicit about things that matter.
We faced a relentless campaign from the city manager and police chief to discredit and undermine and ultimately destroy our Branch, because of our refusal to support the promotion of Stephen Redfearn to police chief or remain silent. In his poignant letter, “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation,” civil rights icon John Lewis encapsulates our plight perfectly. final letter to the world
Regrettably, our attempts to stand firm against these pressures resulted in NAACP National succumbing to the threat of legal action from the city. They issued cease-and-desist letters, demanding we refrain from what they termed “unsubstantiated and inflammatory statements” directed at Redfearn, the Boulder Police Department, and City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde. This language mirrors the accusations from city officials, and to date, we have not been informed of any infractions on our part; we have consistently operated in accordance with the mission of the National NAACP.
Recently, our criminal justice chair faced suspension from the National NAACP after authoring a guest opinion simply to inform our community about a forthcoming police data dashboard, available here. This was followed by a dictate to appoint an overseer for all substantive decisions within our branch that made it all too clear that our ability to carry out the mission had been compromised, effectively placing our Branch under impositions by the city with national enforcement backing it. This crosses a line from the empowered legacy we sought to uphold in our community to unacceptably stifling our voices. While NAACP Boulder County will no longer exist, our commitment to safety, justice, and equality will grow stronger.
It is precisely because of the work we have done with your necessary and greatly appreciated support that our decision to dissolve the Branch lands heavy for all of us. We appreciate your support and interest in making Boulder County safer and more equitable for all members of the community. Our unanimous decision was made because we, [you] would prefer to let this great local Branch conclude rather than to exist as merely a façade, unable to take the necessary actions to hold our city and county accountable. With this dissolution, we call upon city officials and the National NAACP to be held responsible for their actions.
In solidarity and power,
NAACP Boulder County Branch Unit #40AB-B
We aspire to build an inclusive community grounded in equality where all can exercise their civil and human rights without fear and discrimination.