LATE                                                                                                               ADOPTED – OCTOBER 27, 2009

             Agenda Item No. 26

Introduced by the:

            INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE 90^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, LANSING BRANCH

RESOLUTION #09-372

WHEREAS, on February 12, 1909 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an organization that is devoted to civil rights and racial justice, was founded by a multiracial group of activists who answered “The Call,” in New York City, NY, initially called the National Negro Committee, with headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland; and

WHEREAS, the founders of the NAACP, Ida Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. DuBois, Henry Moscowitz, Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villiard, and William English Walling led “The Call” to renew the struggle for civil and political liberty; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP is the nation’s largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization that has been instrumental for improving the legal, educational, and economic lives of African Americans and other minorities in America; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP has grown to become a network of more than 2,200 branches covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Japan and Germany with membership exceeding 500,000; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP championed famous legal action such the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education, Plessy, the Guinn v. United States that overturned the Grandfather Clause as a means of disenfranchising black voters; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP helped enact civil rights legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, as remains the leader in all these just causes; and

WHEREAS, the Lansing Branch was chartered on October 15, 1919 under the leadership of Mr. C. A. Campbell, and continues to support the ideas and concepts of the national organization for more than 90 years; and

WHEREAS, the Lansing Branch focuses on economic development, educational programs for youth, being a legal advocate for civil rights issues for all races, while continuing its multiracial membership.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners hereby recognizes the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the event of their 100^th anniversary, and likewise the Lansing Branch of the NAACP on the event of its 90^th anniversary.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board extends its sincere gratitude to the Lansing Branch of the NAACP for their many achievements that have improved the quality of life for Ingham County residents.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board encourages Ingham County residents to join them in wishing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People continued success in all their future endeavors.