On Saturday, Dec. 6, the NAACP Westside Branch held its swearing in of new board members. The executive board members for the 2008-2010 seasons are:
President Karl Brinson, First Vice President Ray Easley, Second Vice President Joann Kern, Third Vice President Wilbert E. Cook III, Secretary Carolyn Hankins-Page, Assistant Secretary Carol Dorsey, Treasurer Annie Ford and Financial Secretary Constance Jackson. The swearing in of all members was done by Judge Patrice Ball-Reed.
President Karl Brinson outlined the coming season: “We will continue to tackle the issues that affect the West Side, our community, and the African-American community as a whole. What we’re hoping to do this time around is to get people more involved in the issues that confront our community. We want to get the apathy out of the people and get more movement out of people to be involved in organizations like this. It is not enough for us to walk around and complain about the issues that affect us. It is not enough for us to be a member of an organization, any organization that does not do anything, does not partake in anything and does not support anything.
“We really need to engage in these activities, engage ourselves in these organizations and make some things happen with these organizations. It is not enough to say we belong, the same way if you go to church, it is not enough to be a “bench” member of a church, you have to be actively involved in being about change in our community and in this nation.
“So we have a newly elected president of the United States. We have to be able to have some things from the ground resurrected up. We have to start from the bottom to get it to the top, and we can’t get there without people being involved. We can’t do it all by ourselves. As individuals we have to come together collectively and make some things happen because no one else is going to do anything for us but us.”
Members at Large are: Chairperson of the Executive Committee Vera Davis; ACT-SO Chairperson Walter H. Washington; Co-Chairpersons Carolyn Hankins-Page, Karen Gibbs and Emmerson Buie; Economic Empowerment Chairperson Linda Clarke; Co-Chairperson Charles Arrington; Education Chairperson Annie Ford; Co-Chairperson Melissa Amison; Health Chairperson Barbara Jones; Co-Chairperson Daphne LeCesne; Housing Chairperson Phyllis Logan; Labor & Industry Chairperson Ray Easley; Co-Chairperson Felicia Richardson-McGee; Legal Redress Chairperson Daryl Jones; Membership Chairperson Loretta Kern; Co-Chairperson Rev. Lewis Flowers; Political Action Chairperson Khalid Johnson; Co-Chairperson Demetrius Griffin; Religious Affairs Chairperson Rev. Walter Harris Sr.; Co-Chairperson Renet L. Clines & Rev. Wardell Newson; Seniors Concerns Committee Helen Giles; Youth Work/Youth Council Chairperson Deborah Williams; and Co-Chairperson Debra Kern.
