Naacp

The NAACP needs to spend more time in the nation's inner cities and less time debating controversies such as the flying of the Confederate flag at South Carolina's Capitol, the tri-state coordinator for civil liberties of the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks of the World said Monday. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has forgotten the inner city, the Rev. Imagene B. Stewart, tri-state civil liberties directress for the I.B.P.O.E. of W. charged on Monday.

shappell@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Efforts to increase membership and revitalize the local chapter of the NAACP have been successful to the point that it will not lose its national charter, enabling the group to choose new leadership in 2004, the chapter president said Monday. Tracey Brown, president of the Washington County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the organization has the 50 members needed to function.

By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer, Charles Town CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Rahmaan Wilcox wants to improve race relations in Jefferson County and serve as a community activist. He also is practicing to be a quarterback on his Charles Town Junior High football squad. The 13-year-old Ranson youth was elected president in July of the newly reformed Jefferson County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Youth Council. Wilcox believes the Jefferson County NAACP Youth Council helped keep him out of trouble this summer.

HAGERSTOWN - As the NAACP approaches its 100th anniversary next year, local leaders are working to reinvigorate the organization's shrinking local chapter with new programs and membership drives, Washington County branch president Samuel A. Key said. "We can only be as strong as those of you who come and participate," Key told the group that gathered for a black history program Sunday. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, remains a key player in the struggle to right society's wrongs, Key said.

NAACP calls for probe of VA Medical Center By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town An NAACP official called Tuesday night for the removal of George Moore as director of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg following a case in which a white worker at the hospital was awarded $192,400 after complaining he was harassed for associating with black workers. Another NAACP official requested that U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

To appreciate the present, we must remember the past To the editor: It is interesting how times and educational fads change. In a recent column in The Herald-Mail, the writer mentioned a supposedly relatively obscure famous black person - George Washington Carver. In the '50s, I grew up in segregated Cecil County, Md., and read the textbooks that were used by the segregated county and state public school systems. These were textbooks that (even in the course called Problems of Democracy)

Last July the Rev. James Irvin, president of the Washington County chapter of the NAACP, gave a speech at Hagerstown's Wheaton Park in which he charged local government with ignoring the needs of the black community. Government officials responded with a mixture of irritation and puzzlement, with County Administrator Rod Shoop saying the county government hadn't heard from the NAACP in years. Whether or not it hears from the NAACP now, local government needs to seriously consider how to save the best parts of the HotSpots Anti-Crime Initiative.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Eugene Ernest Baltimore is being remembered as a "man of all seasons" who tirelessly looked for the less fortunate and was a leader in the NAACP, among other civic accomplishments. Baltimore, who died Friday at Winchester Medical Center, was pastor of the King Apostle Holiness Church of God in Ranson, W.Va., for more than 50 years and was senior bishop of the church, which placed him over about 18 congregations from Pennsylvania to Florida. Besides his dedication to the church, Baltimore was active in the community, pushing for quality education for African Americans for decades, said Jim Tolbert, president of the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

To the editor: In reading The Morning Herald on Monday, Oct. 31, I was very dismayed and disappointed in the article titled "NAACP included in Mummers Parade. " The dismay came from the fact that the NAACP is certainly aware of the doors this can now open. The disappointment stems from the fact that the Alsatia Club has done such a nice job with the parade for so many years, only to falter now with such a very poor decision. One can only assume that the club failed to consult any type of reputable legal counsel prior to its decision.

To appreciate the present, we must remember the past To the editor: It is interesting how times and educational fads change. In a recent column in The Herald-Mail, the writer mentioned a supposedly relatively obscure famous black person - George Washington Carver. In the '50s, I grew up in segregated Cecil County, Md., and read the textbooks that were used by the segregated county and state public school systems. These were textbooks that (even in the course called Problems of Democracy)

Washington County Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth Morgan will visit Memorial Recreation Center in Hagerstown at 7 p.m. Thursday. Morgan will be the featured speaker at the NAACP Chapter 7030 meeting. Memorial Rec is at 109 W. North Ave. At the June meeting with Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, residents talked about problems in the public school system. Morgan will address those problems and answer questions from the audience. - Madge Miles, Jonathan Street correspondent

While strumming through the pages of The (Baltimore) Sun last week, I came across an article that stirred my interest. According to the Sun article, the Baltimore City Chapter of the NAACP was concerned about the prospects of the governor appointing a white or Republican mayor should Mayor Sheila Dixon be removed from office because of her legal problems. Apparently, the Baltimore City chapter of the NAACP must not have a lot of confidence in whites or Republicans, I thought. Given the peculiar tone of this thinking, I couldn't quite imagine how this city elected Martin O'Malley and William Donald Schaeffer to the position of mayor (both are white)

The NAACP regular meeting is held the second Thursday of the month at Memorial Recreation Center on North Street in Hagerstown from 7 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, call Russell Williams, president of Unit 7030, at 301-797-1201

What is democracy? Is it government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or their elected agents under a free electoral system? Is it a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges? Is it the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group? Is it possible for an organized group advocating for democracy, equality of rights and privileges to survive in a democratic society and futilely practice the principles of democracy?

HAGERSTOWN - As the NAACP approaches its 100th anniversary next year, local leaders are working to reinvigorate the organization's shrinking local chapter with new programs and membership drives, Washington County branch president Samuel A. Key said. "We can only be as strong as those of you who come and participate," Key told the group that gathered for a black history program Sunday. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, remains a key player in the struggle to right society's wrongs, Key said.

WASHINGTON COUNTY ? Members and supporters of the Washington County NAACP will join civil rights activists at the U.S. Justice Department Friday to call for action in response to recent incidents in Jena, La., Maryland and across the country. The NAACP has declared a state of emergency in response to recent incidents, according to a news release from the organization's Baltimore branch. "Things that have happened nationwide can happen locally, too," said Hampton Wedlock, vice president of the NAACP's local chapter.

The Washington County branch of the NAACP hosted its annual Freedom Fund dinner on Saturday, Oct. 6, to raise money for area student scholarships. Debbie Singleton, secretary of the local branch, said the dinner was held at UAW Local 171 Union Hall in Hagerstown. Woodrow Grant, branch chief of the Maryland State Department of Education, spoke on the topic, "Power Beyond Measure. " "He was a dynamic speaker," said Singleton, who noted that Grant's speech included a brief history of education and the founding of the NAACP in 1909.