Leaders call for NAACP revival,
racism seen 'alive, well' in Y-S
Sac Bee Excloo
MARYSVILLE 6/26/02 (YSN) - The once thriving Yuba-Sutter Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has lain dormant for the last half-decade and it's time to revive it, area leaders said a brainstorming session Tuesday.
A group of about 25 members and supporters -- mostly African-American, but with a salting of whites showing solidarity -- met to hear grievances and strategize ways to resolve them.
One hundred members are required to qualify as an active chapter under NAACP bylaws, said Gloria Turner, a retired teacher acting as the interim president while the chapter tries to get back on its feet.
"So what we need is your name, address and $30," quipped Dr. Nate White, a Sacramento area NAACP leader who came to give the group a pep talk.
The problems voiced included from one woman's dispute over what she considered discriminatory racial bias in promotions at the Marysville Joint Unified School District to concerns about hiring practices at the area law enforcement agencies.
Turner reported several unsuccessful efforts to persuade school officials to replace retiring African-American teachers with young African-American teachers in order to maintain a cultural presence in the school.
But school district officials seem to regard minority hiring as a quota-like goal, according to Turner.
"I hired an Hispanic. I got my minority," Turner reported being told by an administrator.
"Racism is alive and well." White said.
The group also expressed wider concerns over allegations of child molestations at local elementary and what it might mean to the African-American community.
Former child and family counselor William W. Babcock, 54, awaits trial for allegedly molesting four boys at Walter Kynoch Elementary School. He has pleaded innocent to all charges.
Nonetheless, at least six parents have filed claims against the school district relating to the district. For fear of imperiling any pending or potential lawsuits, discussion of this topic was intentionally limited.
Marysville has a well-established and very tight knit African-American community. It traces its roots back to pre-gold rush days.
Mountain man, legendary adventurer and true west black hero Jim Beckwourth, blazed one of the earliest pioneer trails into California through the Yuba Gap. He and his achievements are celebrated with Marysville's annual Beckwourth Days festival.
Of the roughly 60,000 people the U.S. census estimated to be in Yuba County in 2001, some 3.2 percent were African-American.
Sutter County had an about 80,000 residents in 2001, according to the same census estimates. African-Americans accounted for about 1.9 percent of that
racism seen 'alive, well' in Y-S
Sac Bee Excloo
MARYSVILLE 6/26/02 (YSN) - The once thriving Yuba-Sutter Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has lain dormant for the last half-decade and it's time to revive it, area leaders said a brainstorming session Tuesday.
A group of about 25 members and supporters -- mostly African-American, but with a salting of whites showing solidarity -- met to hear grievances and strategize ways to resolve them.
One hundred members are required to qualify as an active chapter under NAACP bylaws, said Gloria Turner, a retired teacher acting as the interim president while the chapter tries to get back on its feet.
"So what we need is your name, address and $30," quipped Dr. Nate White, a Sacramento area NAACP leader who came to give the group a pep talk.
The problems voiced included from one woman's dispute over what she considered discriminatory racial bias in promotions at the Marysville Joint Unified School District to concerns about hiring practices at the area law enforcement agencies.
Turner reported several unsuccessful efforts to persuade school officials to replace retiring African-American teachers with young African-American teachers in order to maintain a cultural presence in the school.
But school district officials seem to regard minority hiring as a quota-like goal, according to Turner.
"I hired an Hispanic. I got my minority," Turner reported being told by an administrator.
"Racism is alive and well." White said.
The group also expressed wider concerns over allegations of child molestations at local elementary and what it might mean to the African-American community.
Former child and family counselor William W. Babcock, 54, awaits trial for allegedly molesting four boys at Walter Kynoch Elementary School. He has pleaded innocent to all charges.
Nonetheless, at least six parents have filed claims against the school district relating to the district. For fear of imperiling any pending or potential lawsuits, discussion of this topic was intentionally limited.
Marysville has a well-established and very tight knit African-American community. It traces its roots back to pre-gold rush days.
Mountain man, legendary adventurer and true west black hero Jim Beckwourth, blazed one of the earliest pioneer trails into California through the Yuba Gap. He and his achievements are celebrated with Marysville's annual Beckwourth Days festival.
Of the roughly 60,000 people the U.S. census estimated to be in Yuba County in 2001, some 3.2 percent were African-American.
Sutter County had an about 80,000 residents in 2001, according to the same census estimates. African-Americans accounted for about 1.9 percent of that
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