Mar-Saline NAACP announces Annual Freedom Fund Awards banquet. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II, Honored Guest

The Mar-Saline Branch of the NAACP will hold its Annual Freedom Fund and Awards Banquet on Saturday June 26, 2010 at Missouri Valley College, R. Wilson Brown Banquet Room, and beginning at 6:30 p.m. WE ARE 101 ---come join us as we celebrate “ONE NATION, ONE DREAM.” You and representatives from your congregation are invited to be our special guests because you believe as we do, in equality, and social and civil liberties for all Americans.

The Honorable Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II, 5th Congressional District, will be our banquet speaker. He has worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest Civil Rights organization. It has improved the social, economic, and political conditions for African Americans and many other minorities more than any other organization in the history of America. In 1939, the MAR-SALINE BRANCH received its charter. The branch has made a positive impact on the quality of life for citizens in Saline County and surrounding counties.

As we continue to make plans for this prestigious event, we sincerely hope you will respond favorably to our request no later than June 15 2010, by completing the Ticket Order form below. Direct questions to Clyde Williams, President@NAACPMarshallMo.org. or Virginia Huston, virginiahuston@att.net

TICKET ORDER

QTY
Individual Ticket - 30.00 ______

Table for 8 - $250.00 ______


NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet & Awards Ticket Form

Name: ________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________

City: _______________ St: ___ Zip: _____ Phone: ___-____-_____

Email: __________________________________________________

Amount of Check $______.______

Authorized Signature: ______________________________________ The Mar-Saline NAACP is a 501 C (4) entity. Contributions are partially tax deductible.

RSVP’s WITH TICKET ORDER ON or BEFORE JUNE 15, 2010
Please make checks payable to:
Mar-Saline NAACP
P. O. Box 435
Marshall, MO 65340
660-886-5965

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II
Biography

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II is currently serving his third term representing the Fifth District of Missouri in the House of Representatives and sits on the exclusive Financial Services Committee, Committee of Homeland Security, and the Select Committee on Global Warming. Congressman Cleaver also serves as a Regional Whip of the Democratic Caucus and First Vice-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Having grown up in public housing, Congressman Cleaver has dedicated his career in public service to economic development and social concerns.

Born on the kitchen counter in his grandmother’s kitchen in Waxahachie, Texas, Emanuel Cleaver spent his first six years in a shack, his adolescence in public housing, and his late teen years in his family’s paid for home. He knows first-hand the value of loving and disciplinary parents.

Graduating high school in Wichita Falls, Texas, Congressman Cleaver went on to attend Prairie View A & M University, earning a B.S. in Sociology. He continued his education in Kansas City, Missouri where he obtained a Masters in Divinity from St. Paul’s School of Theology. Cleaver is an ordained Methodist Minister and still serves as Senior Pastor at St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City. When he was appointed to serve this central city church in 1974, the membership totaled 41. Today, the St. James congregation is nearly 3000.

Emanuel Cleaver was first elected to public office in 1979 as a City Councilman in Kansas City. During his 12 year tenure, he served as Mayor Pro Tem and was an active Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Committee.

His experience on the City Council paved the way to a two-term stint as mayor of Kansas City, where he made history as the first African American elected to that office. As Mayor, Cleaver worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for the City’s residents. The 18th and Vine Jazz District, the rehabilitation of the historic Union Station, the construction of the Bruce R. Watkins roadway, the flood control and beautification of the Brush Creek, and the construction of four community centers. He championed programs and initiatives designed to create jobs and stimulate economic development. The major corporations attracted to the Kansas City area under his leadership include, Harley Davidson, CitiCorp, Gateway 2000, and TransAmerica. Cleaver’s exemplary leadership earned him a two-term position as President of the National Conference of Black Mayors. He was also an active member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

He is regarded as one of the City’s greatest leaders and is known for his ability to bring different groups together to attain constructive solutions for common problems.
After his tenure as Mayor, the city honored Congressman Cleaver by designating one of its major thoroughfares “Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard.”

The Congressman and his wife Dianne have been married for over thirty years, where they have made Kansas City their home. They have four grown children and three grandchildren.

The Wichita NAACP Blog: Ward Connerly and Tim Asher withdraw their latest challenge to Equal Opportunity in Missouri in the face of an ACLU Lawsuit

Ward Connerly and Tim Asher withdraw their latest challenge to Equal Opportunity in Missouri in the face of an ACLU Lawsuit

Reminder - Haiti Health Kits

Like so many around the world, the NAACP, http://naacpblogs.naacp.org/blog/?p=397 ,grieves for the lives lost in the earthquake in Haiti. Historically the NAACP has had a historic relationship with the people of Haiti. We understand that a tragedy of this magnitude demands a substantial response.

Locally we all are ask to give and we are given --- given our time, service, and talents toward the relief efforts. In an effort to continue in the spirit of giving, The Mar-Saline Unit of the NAACP is partnering with First United Methodist Church, Marshall, MO, in providing HEALTH KITS for the familes of Haiti. "In the face of this natural disaster, these kits can mean the difference between sicknes and health for struggling families", states Rev. Kathleen Schmidtke, pastor to FUMC, http://www.marshallfumc.com/ .

We are asking you to bring your kit(s) to the collection center by the church office, 225 E. Arrow *** Marshall, MO *** 660-886-9697. Deadline for kits is Sunday, February, 14th, Valentines Day. How better to show our love for each other and our follow (wo)man.

Eack kit is approximately $10.00 if you would rather a cash donation.---checks payable to UMCOR
Make up of kit:

• 1 hand towel (16" x 28")
• 1 wide-tooth comb
• 1 nail clipper
• 1 washcloth
• 1 bar of bath soap
• 6 band aids
• 1 toothbruch in original packaging (Church World Service will add the toothpaste)
• Set all items is a one-gallon plastic bag with zipper closure.

We have all been deeply moved by the devastating images in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. The Mar-saline Branch of the NAACP and United Methodist Church has historically had a special relationship with the people of Haiti, and we are committed to doing whatever we can to support them during this crisis.

Health Coordinator, Suzanne Strathman, is ask to be the Marsaline Branch of the NAACP point person on this effort

Please go as the spirit leads you,

Clyde

What you don't know about Civil Rights CAN hurt you...

"Civil Rights" is not the name of a movement...

"Civil Rights" is not a type of organization..."Civil Rights" is not a method of protest...

Civil 'Rights' are the rights and privileges guaranteed by law to all citizens of the United States. The Civil Rights movement was an organized and protracted effort to ensure that the rights guaranteed by law were equally extended to all Americans. Civil Rights Organizations were those groups who worked to ensure the fair and equal application of the laws, foremost among them being the 14th amendment to the Constitution which reads in part:
"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."In its truest sense, the struggle over civil rights has never really abated. That's because Civil 'Rights' are, in essence, matters of law; and the laws from which they derive are dynamic. Their meanings and applications are subject to change with each interpretation. By Stare Decisis - as courts render new decisions, their precedent becomes the new practice, so a law that you wrote or read yesterday, could be interpreted to mean something completely different next year. And when you factor in the role of politics and how federal appointments to District Courts are often made along political and ideological lines, you come to realize that our Civil 'Rights' are extremely fragile.

We as activists must not only concern ourselves with securing Civil Rights for all Americans, but we must be equally focused upon protecting those Civil Rights that now exist. Because on any given Monday a court decision, a ballot initiative, or a legal appeal could change the law or its application and strip away a right you had previously taken for granted.Which brings me to Gross vs FBL Financial Services Inc

Jack Gross went to work at FBL Financial Services back in 1987. He worked his way through the ranks, and by 1999 he had been named the Claims Administration Vice President. A couple years later, Jack's job title and duties began to change. He noticed that the duties and responsibilities that he once had, were being shifted to a younger employee. In 2003 Jack noted that his position as "Claims Project Coordinator" lacked a real job description or clearly defined duties, but his younger co-worker had all but assumed the functional equivalent of his old position.In 2004 Jack Gross sued FBL Financial Services for Age Discrimination. The trial lasted a mere 5 days and Jack Gross prevailed. The jury found that Jack Gross proved, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he was demoted and his age was a motivating factor in the demotion decision. They awarded him $46,945.00 for lost compensation.Not surprisingly, FBL appealed.... They filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari, informally referred to as a "Cert Petition" with the Supreme Court. A Cert Petition is a formal request for the Supreme Court to review the decision of a lower court. The Supreme Court granted the Writ of Certiorari and on June 18th, Justice Thomas rendered the 5-4 decision of the court which held that: A plaintiff bringing an Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) disparate-treatment claim must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that age was the "but-for" cause of the challenged adverse employment action. The burden of persuasion does not shift to the employer to show that it would have taken the action regardless of age, even when a plaintiff has produced some evidence that age was one motivating factor in that decision. In a nutshell, the Supreme Court reversed the lower courts decision in favor of Jack Gross, and also put forward a new legal standard for ruling in Age Discrimination cases. The conservative majority on the court (Thomas, Scalia, Alito, Roberts, and Kennedy) ruled that a plaintiff in an age discrimination case must not only prove that age was "A" motivating factor in an adverse employment action or decision; they must prove that age was "THE" motivating factor. And unless or until the plaintiff can present direct evidence of the employer's primary personal motivations, the employer should not be required to prove anything. With the writ of Certiorari, the case was remanded back to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals for retrial. And yesterday, the 8th Circuit Court issued a new ruling in favor of FBL Financial Services... The preponderance of the evidence still shows that FBL Services was considering Jack Gross' age when deciding to demote him, but as of yesterday morning, that no longer meets the legal standard of an Age Discrimination Claim. You see, protection from discrimination or adverse employment actions on the basis of ones age is still a 'Civil Right', but is is now a right guaranteed in a law that is virtually impossible to assert. I said all of that to say this... Our Civil Rights are fragile. Like the picture above, these Rights are like a candle in the wind. If we are not vigilant, if we do not safeguard and protect them, they will be lost...The courts have been busy chipping away at them, bit by bit, for a number of years. We must remember that the protections and safeguards that we fought so hard to secure in the 50's and 60's are not promised to our children. Whether or not they are passed on to the next generation will depend on what we do today. Because on any given Monday, things can change... just like yesterday morning.
The ACLU and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights call for reform at the US Commission on Civil Rights

Long time readers of the blog and WNB Newsbrief will note that we've been talking about the ideological shift and politicization of the US Commission on Civil Rights for the last couple years. (See HERE, and HERE, and HERE, and HERE). Through a series of Bush-era politically motivated appointments, the 8-member Commission is now composed of 4 staunch conservatives who are absolutely ideologically opposed to the goals and precepts of the American Civil Rights movement and 2 right-leaning 'quasi-independents'.But at long last, the call for reform is now picking up steam. On November 18th, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the ACLU went to the Congress to call for dramatic reform within the agency.The groups called for reforms that would broaden the commission's mandate so that it can better investigate and address civil rights issues and work to strengthen U.S. commitments on human rights. In particular, they are seeking a change in the way that members are appointed to the commission to ensure that commissioners remain independent. Currently, members are appointed by Congress and the president and are not required to undergo a confirmation process.The commission was created with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 as an independent fact-finding body charged with investigating and reporting on civil rights and making recommendations to the federal government on how to fix the problems it uncovered. Through its fact-finding work, it helped lay the foundation for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.Over the past few years, however, the commission has taken positions hostile to civil rights issues, such as opposing the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act in 2006, urging the Senate to vote against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill, encouraging the elimination of school desegregation programs, and opposing the Employee Free Choice Act.

Survey---Mar-Saline Branch of the NAACP

Please respond to this 1 minute survey--- click on the link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=e3AbllHe9XVLQ9_2f3Yo4L5g_3d_3d

WE ARE 100 1909-2009

100 years ago, a small multiracial group of progressive thinkers came together to share a bold dream: An America free of the racial oppression that sullied the soul of our nation. The NAACP was born of that noble vision.The new organization launched a 30-year struggle to end the horror of lynch mobs. Then we fought to reverse the Jim Crow laws, and two decades later, segregation was made illegal. In the 1960's, the NAACP took up the fight for economic and political inclusion... and just a few months ago, an African-American president was elected.I've only been CEO of the NAACP since September, but I want to take this opportunity to thank you -- whether you're a veteran NAACP member who was there during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, or whether you joined us two years ago to protest the treatment of the young men of the Jena 6.The NAACP has always embraced the impossible. Our triumphs have not been ours alone. Ending lynch mobs against African Americans also ended the horror for White Catholics, the second largest group of lynching victims. Our fight against discrimination helped all disenfranchised members of our country open locked doors and break through barriers of inequity. I want to thank you for all you have done... and all you will do as we recommit to the struggle. Because the journey is not over. Black unemployment is twice that of white Americans. A majority of employers preferred to hire a white criminal than a black man without a criminal record, according to several surveys. African American children disproportionately attend segregated, poor quality schools. Mass incarceration is harming far too many people of color when drug treatment and other approaches would have better outcomes. The health disparities in our communities are well-known. Now as we face our second 100 years, we can begin to see the realization of the vision of a new land where all live in safe communities and law enforcement respects and protects our neighborhoods. A land where all children can blossom in quality schools... where every worker has a fair chance for employment, education and advancement. Because of your idealism, your willingness to dream big dreams, to set big goals... and to do the hard work, the NAACP has changed our country in our lifetime.Join me in celebrating... and in taking the next steps to realize our vision of justice and equality for all. And take a look at this Washington Post story about what your NAACP is doing now.