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NAACP Boston Branch begins election process with contentious meeting

Yawu Miller
Yawu Miller is the former senior editor of the Bay State Banner. He has written for the Banner since 1988.... VIEW BIO
NAACP Boston Branch begins election process with contentious meeting
NAACP Boston Branch President Michael Curry addresses the audience at a meeting Monday. Looking on are (l–r) 1st Vice President Cheryl Clyburne Crawford and Treasurer Terri L. Brown. (Banner photo)

The basement meeting room was full and the debate was heated at times as NAACP Boston Branch members new and old discussed the upcoming election for branch president and other positions.

The room at the Twelfth Baptist church was divided between supporters of incumbent President Michael Curry and challenger Larry Ellison, president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers.

Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers President Larry Ellison (white shirt) is running for president of the Boston Branch of the NAACP. (Banner photo)

Ellison and his supporters say the branch has been silent on key issues affecting blacks in Boston.

“There’s been a lot of issues going on in Boston that I and others feel aren’t being addressed by the Boston Branch,” Ellison told the Banner. “Every time you turn around folks are out on the picket line, but aren’t in the job line.”

Curry used the meeting’s customary committee reports to highlight the work the branch has been undertaking. The Education Committee negotiated to block the Boston Public Schools from requiring 7th graders to ride the MBTA to school and secured an agreement that the parents of 8th graders could opt out of the transportation plan if they decide their children aren’t safe taking the T.

East Boston High School students started a branch of the NAACP at their school and negotiated changes to the student disciplinary policy to decrease the school’s use of out-of-school suspensions.

“This is your opportunity to hear what we do, so the next time somebody asks you, you can say what we do,” Curry told the NAACP members at the meeting.

Curry, who was elected president in 2010, highlighted other achievements, including the recruitment of 1,200 new NAACP members.

In an interview with the Banner, Curry noted that he was elected to the national board of the NAACP by branch members across the country. He acknowledges that the organization’s sometimes low-key approach to problem solving hasn’t always garnered headlines. But he says the organization has been at the center of efforts to expand opportunities for people of color in Boston.

“We are the strongest voice in Boston on the issue of discrimination — public and private sector — and we meet regularly with Boston Police Department, Boston Public Schools, MBTA, corporations and the mayor to address issues,” Curry said.

Ellison says Curry’s ability to lead the organization is constrained by his job as a lobbyist for the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Centers. Ellison also says he would continue to serve as president of MAMLEO, if elected president of the Boston Branch.

Ellison, whose application to become a member of the Boston Branch was submitted April 1, the deadline for candidates to be eligible to run for president, has not attended an NAACP meeting in recent memory, according to the branch’s 1st Vice President Cheryl Crawford.

“Where has he been when we’ve been doing this work?” she said. “Why isn’t he here working with us on the issues now?”

Ellison says his candidacy has been endorsed by notables in the black community, including Nation of Islam Minister Don Muhammad and Pastor Bruce Wall. Among Curry’s backers are former Branch President Leonard Alkins, who was present at Monday’s meeting.

“Michael has done an excellent job,” Alkins told the Banner. “He’s brought in volunteers and a lot of youth. The youth are in the office doing work. He’s gotten grants to pay them. That speaks volumes.”

The election process began with Monday’s meeting, with a vote to hold the election on Nov. 24 from 4 to 8 p.m.

Many of Ellison’s supporters at the meeting asked that the voting time start earlier in the day to accommodate the schedules of branch members, many of whom are police officers who work nights and are new to the NAACP.

“As black people, can’t we just vote?” said officer Paul Joseph, drawing applause.

Curry told the branch members the four-hour polling time would be more than enough to accommodate branch members’ schedules.

As he left the meeting, former state Sen. Bill Owens said the voting time would likely exclude senior citizens who depend on public transportation.

“With all the issues around the country where people are losing their right to vote, I don’t think the NAACP should be a part of that,” he said. “The voting should follow the same schedule as city elections. There are a lot of people, including seniors, who would love to volunteer so their friends could be able to vote.”

Curry said Owen’s comparison to municipal elections was unfair.

“The membership has already decided that the election will be on Nov. 24 from 4 to 8 p.m.,” he said. “Sen. Owens, who is not a regular attendee of our meetings, should understand the process better. We’re a nonprofit organization, not a city agency. We don’t have the number of voters or volunteers for an all-day vote.”