Mandelas
magnificent struggle
By
Prof. Jake Highton
Expanded
from the 12-19-2013 Sparks Tribune
Remember
Mandela's Values
By Dr. R. Grant Seals / Reno Gazette-Journal Guest
Commentary / 12-17-2013
The
Mandela Barbie
Poor Mandela. When he's not a doll, he's a statue. He joins Martin
Luther King as another bronzed monument whose use is to serve a
new version of racism, Apartheid 2.0, worsening both in South Africa
and in the USA.
By international investigative journalist Greg
Palast / 12-13-2013
Breaking
News and Bulletins>
Nov. 21, 2013: State Senate Majority
leader Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, headlines Reno informational meeting
regarding Drivers Authorization Cards / Nov. 23: FOUR Immigration
Reform marches in Reno [UPDATE: Participating branch members included
Kathy Miner, Alise Moss Vetica, Cedric McLaurin, Don Gallimore, George
Hardaway and Andrew Barbano.]
Immigration
Shifts Political Power
AP-Las
Vegas Sun / 11-20-2013
POOR
DENNY'S ALMANAC 11-21-2013
On this date in 2004, Ray Hagar and Sandi Wright reported
in the Reno Gazette-Journal that local schools attended
by low income students tended to be the most poorly maintained
schools.
THE
BARBWIRE RESPONDS: So what else is new? Over the decades,
the RGJ has done a sterling job investigating separate but
unequal health care and education. Alas and alack, nothing
much ever changes on the High Desert Plantation. For a quick
sad summary, see the Barbwire
of April 2, 2006 (updated periodically). See also We
Don't Need No Education,
the continuing series.
On
Nov. 12, 1833, the Leonid meteor shower was discovered,
marking what some consider the birth of meteor astronomy;
on this date in 1911, the Reno YMCA building was dedicated;
in 1919,
African-American newspaper publisher William Trotter,
an opponent of Booker Washingtons accomodationist
approach who led some blacks out of the Republican Party to
support Woodrow Wilson only to see Wilson adopt white
supremacist policies, met with the president at the White
House, an angry meeting in which Wilson told Trotter Your
manner offends me and Trotter afterward disclosed to
the public Wilsons support for segregation; in
1931, for the first time anyone could remember, duck hunting
season was cancelled at Winnemucca Lake, the body of water
that was slowly disappearing as a result of water being diverted
from the Pyramid Lake tribal reservation to desert reclamation;
in 1936, the beautiful San Francisco Bay Bridge opened;
in 1947, Miles Pike, lawyer for the Haywood Sign Company,
argued in a meeting of the chamber of commerce, Reno advertising
club, and county planning board, that the new county ordinance
requiring that all billboards not in commercial zones be removed
within two years was unconstitutional; in 1962, Meredith Steel
in Sparks was selling a do-it-yourself backyard fallout shelter
kit; in 1966 Poor Side of Town by Johnny Rivers
hit number one on the Billboard magazine chart; in
1978, the Jubilee Club, a popular dinner house halfway
between Reno and Carson City, closed down; in
2011, with Myrlie Evers
Williams wielding the champagne, the Navy ship USNS
Medgar Evers was christened in San Diego.
|
From longtime Nevada reporter Dennis
Myers' daily online Poor Denny's Almanac
Copyright © 2013 Dennis Myers. Used by permission.
|
The
African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross
With
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. / Oct. 22-Nov. 26 / 8-9:00 pm. Eastern / Check
local listings for times and re-runs
A
new six-part series now on PBS TV stations
Assemblymember
Peggy Pierce, D-Las Vegas, 1954-2013
Reno memorial service announced for Nov. 16
We
Don't Need No Education: The neverending series
Nevada and
North Carolina newspapers
USA
at crossroads:
New Deal or
new Confederacy?
Barbwire
by Barbano / Expanded from the
10-10-2013 Sparks Tribune
Low-income
penalty: Nevada socks it to the working poor
BARBANO:
Nevada is one big company town
Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 10-10-2013
State
of Health
National health care comes up against a very sick state. WHAT'S IN
IT FOR US?
Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 10-10-2013
Unfortunately,
the opening episode fails to mention that the Texas rebellion,
sanitized by the Alamo myth, was a pro-slavery
war. Late-coming Anglo settlers from slave states were
angered that Mexico had banned slavery. Makes you want
to toss your Davy Crockett pseudo-coonskin cap
and plastic Bowie knife.
Later installments show how the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and union leader César
Chávez
sparked a long-smoldering fire. Check listings for frequent
re-runs of the six-hour
PBS series.
Let
your local station know about the omissions and tell
us what they say.
|
|
 |
César Chávez
and MLK are featured on the final first-run installment.
Check local listings and pbs.org
for re-runs.
Almanac:
On Oct. 2, 1835, the
Battle of Gonzales, the first skirmish of the Texas
Revolution took place. Texian settlers half-heartedly exchanged
fire with Mexican soldiers near the Guadalupe River. The
Mexican Army finally withdrew. It wasn't much of a fight,
but it was the first.
Latino
Americanos, una serie documental
que marca un hito con sus seis horas presentadas en tres partes.
PBS sacará al aire la serie a nivel nacional en el
otoño de 2013.
|
On
Sept. 29, 1864, at Chaffin's Farm in Fort Harrison, Virginia,
African-American soldiers James Gardiner and Thomas
Hawkins each took actions in harms way for which
they both received the Medal of Honor for gallantry.
|
From longtime Nevada reporter Dennis
Myers' daily online Poor Denny's Almanac
Copyright © 2013 Dennis Myers. Used by permission.
|
Site
map
We
Don't Need No Education XXV>
How
to play pro ball and be cruel to your school
Barbwire
by Barbano / Expanded from the
9-19-2013 Sparks Tribune
 |
Which
hood do you find most suspicious?
|
 |
|
Reno
rally marked the 50th anniversary of the legendary 1963
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
10
a.m.12 noon Saturday, August 24, Bruce Thompson Federal Courthouse,
S. Virginia & Liberty streets
 |
FIERY
WORDS ON A SMOKY DAY (24 Aug. 2013) Longtime community
organizer Theresa Navarro addresses the crowd at the northern
Nevada portion of the nationwide commemoration of the 1963
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The young man holding
the banner needs identification, so anyone who knows him,
mail it in.
To his left is Rabbi Myra Soifer, partially obscured by the
elbow of Reno Gazette-Journal photographer Ross Brinkerhoff
who is preparing to shoot the photo of Theresa which appeared
in the newspaper's Sunday Aug. 25 edition. To Mr. Brinkerhoff's
left is Mary Cooper, who gave an inspiring speech reminiscent
of her late husband, the Rev. Onie Cooper, former Reno-Sparks
Branch president. A KOLO TV-8 videographer stands to Mary's
left. At his elbow is Pat Coia. Additional photos will soon
be posted to a new gallery here. Spread the word>and
join the branch! (Photo courtesy
of Alise Moss Vetica)
|
Lawnmower
Man, bladerunners and smoke eaters
Demonstrators
at Reno Federal Courthouse deserve combat pay
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the
8-29-2013 Sparks Tribune
UPDATE
1:10 p.m. PDT / 20:10 GMT 24 AUGUST > About 50 people attended,
less than half the number of the Trayvon Martin
105-degree sunscreen-mandatory event. The forest fire-caused/worse-than-Beijing
air probably kept some of the diehards home. They live to fight
another day. Three network-affiliated TV stations showed up, along
with the Reno Gazette-Journal, the Sparks Tribune
and talk radio host Chip Evans. More details and photos will be
posted here shortly, including how the court building's lawnmower
man endangered some of the participants who had written permission
to stand on the federal sidewalk. Get the August 29 Sparks Tribune.
UPDATE
3:01 p.m. PDT WEDNESDAY 28 AUGUST >
In case you missed it, the Robert Redford-produced/Denzel
Washington-narrated documentary The March repeats at 6:00
a.m. PDT and 6:00 p.m. PDT August 29 on Reno/Northern Nevada KNPB
TV-5 or your local PBS station. PBS shows usually re-run the following
weekend and sometimes into the next week, so keep your eyes on the
prize > and on local listings. Turn on, tune in and tell
a friend. The
show will fill you with renewed purpose and make you cry. Guaranteed.
STAY TUNED > Watch RenoSparksNAACP.org for photos. Some
of the people in the shots will need identification, so forward
names as you view the gallery. The Reno Gazette-Journal ran
two color photos on page 4A of the Sunday Aug. 25 edition but posted
neither the story nor the promised photo spread online. At least
they showed up, as did the smoke eaters and blade runners who participated
on Saturday. (Aachoo!)
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
NAACP Reno-Sparks Branch No. 1112
Andrew Barbano, First Vice-President
(775) 786-1455
Patricia Gallimore, Second Vice-President
(775) 846-2952
Reno
rally commemorates 50th anniversary of 1963 March for Jobs
and Freedom in Washington, DC
10:00 a.m to 12:00
noon Saturday, August 24, Bruce Thompson Federal Courthouse,
S. Virginia & E. Liberty streets
RENO, NEV. USA
The Reno-Sparks NAACP will add local voices to Saturday's
commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March
for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, DC
The Reno event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
in front of the Bruce Thompson Federal Courthouse at
E. Liberty and S. Virginia streets.
Participants are urged to make their own signs and remember
to apply sunscreen. Those especially sensitive to the ongoing
forest fire smog should take appropriate precautions.
Several members of NAACP Reno-Sparks Branch No. 1112 attended
the legendary 1963 gathering, including future Branch Presidents
Bertha Woodard (1971-76, 1987-88) and Eddie Scott
(1961-64). Members of Scott's car caravan, including now-retired
teacher Erma
Fritchen, participated in freedom rider demonstrations
both on the way to DC and during their return.
On the road, the
band of about 20 slept on the floor of a black church in Selma,
Ala., where a seamstress named Rosa Parks brought food
to feed the travelers. They met with Nevada's congressional
delegation and galvanized action to establish a local food
program.
The 1963 assemblage in front of the Lincoln Memorial set the
standard for all future major demonstrations in Washington,
DC.
Sleeping
Car Porters Union President A. Philip Randolph
and legendary organizer Bayard Rustin generated
several hundred thousand attendees from all over the country,
setting the stage for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., to issue his ringing challenge to the nation.
"We
recognize more than a little irony in the fact that jobs,
individual freedom and justice remain the principal issues
of 2013," stated Reno-Sparks NAACP First Vice-President
Andrew Barbano. Reno-Sparks NAACP President Jeffrey
Blanck is attending the gathering in the nation's capital.
A southern Nevada event is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m.
Saturday in Las Vegas.
The Reno-Sparks Branch of the nation's oldest and largest
civil rights organization was chartered in 1947.
For Google map purposes: The courthouse address is 400 S.
Virginia, Reno NV 89501
|
Radical King’s ‘promised
land’ of justice still distant Local celebration marred
By
Jake Highton / Sparks Tribune / 9-5-2013
Black
Caucus forum to paint a grim picture of King's Dream in Las
Vegas
Las
Vegas Review-Journal / 8-28-2013
Nevadans
who were there remember the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom
in Washington DC
Former
Reno-Sparks Branch President Bertha Woodard made the journey
By Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review / 8-22-2013
Reno-Sparks
Branch freedom riders visited with Rosa Parks on the way to
DC in 1963
How
Black Unionists Organized the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom
By William P. Jones / Labor Notes / 8-22-2013
Can't
make it personally? Show up virtually >
Become
a cybernautic marcher via Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr
2013
Freedom Fund Awards Banquet
We
Don't Need No Education: The neverending series
Nevada
and North Carolina newspapers/ Updated 8-23-2013
Become
an NAACP member
Reno-Sparks
NAACP Facebook Page
INSTAGRAM:
renosparks_naacp
Site
map
|
We
don't need no education, Part 24
Barbwire
by Barbano / Expanded from the
8-22-2013 Sparks Tribune
Web
extra Bill
O'Reilly's sex education
In
Memoriam: Bertha Lee Spivey Reynolds, 1937-2013
Longtime
Reno-Sparks Branch member Bertha Reynolds passed away on August
19, 2013, in El Sobrante, California. She was a victim of
congestive heart failure which also caused kidney failure.
She retired from nursing after a 30-year career. She leaves
two daughters, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Viewing will be held from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. with a memorial
service to follow immediately on Wednesday, August 28, at
Bethel AME Church, 2655 N. Rock Blvd., Sparks, Nevada.
In lieu
of flowers,
the family requests that donations in her name be made to
the American Heart Association and/or the Kidney Foundation.
May she
rest in peace.
|
Sen.
Reid expresses hope that GOP opposition to Obama is not race-based
Las
Vegas Review-Journal / 8-9-2013
The
presence of all colors gives you black
Barbwire
by Barbano / Expanded from the
7-25-2013 Sparks Tribune
 |
And
a little child shall lead them.
|
London
Guardian newspaper international investigative reporter Greg Palast
urges Trayvon's dad to sue his son's killer
Truth-Out.org 7-24-2013
Former
Las Vegas Branch president, Methodist minister and
Assemblymember Marion Bennett, D-Las Vegas, dies of heart attack at
80
Las
Vegas Review-Journal 7-23-2013
|
On
Mr. Ralston's July 24 program, attorney and Nevada Assembly
Majority Leader William Horne, D-Las Vegas, defended the 2011
measure, opposed by Laura Martin of the Progressive Leadership
Alliance of Nevada. Neither acquitted him/herself very well.
You may view the program online and decide for yourself by clicking
here.
|
More
than 105 brave 105-degree heat in Reno to demand justice for
slaughtered black teenager
|
 |
BRAVING
THE HEAT TO BRING SOME HEAT Reno-Sparks NAACP Secretary
Heather Hauskins makes her silent statement at the Reno Trayvon
rally. Branch Second Vice-President Patricia Gallimore stands
to Heather's right.
(L. Martina Young photo)
|
RENO, NEVADA, USA (20 July 2013) More than 100 people
braved 105-degree heat on July 20 to attend the Reno "Justice
for Trayvon" rally. Three major network affliate TV stations,
three local newspapers and one radio station covered the event.
A rainbow coalition of war veterans, lawyers, NAACP and union
members, mothers, fathers, ministers, a rabbi, brothers, sisters
and children gathered at the downtown Bruce Thompson Federal
Courthouse. One woman risked melting a big bag of Skittles
in the heat.
Accompanying herself
on a drum, Jan Gardipe opened the event with a Native-American
song. She previously performed at the 2011 memorial service
for former Reno-Sparks Branch President Rev. Onie Cooper.
Noted Reno lawyer Terri Keyser-Cooper said that she's
been filing civil rights cases in Nevada for 30 years "and
it's never gotten better." She urged anyone who has suffered
discrimination to "file the report" because corporations
are very frightened of any bad publicity.
One young Latina
spoke on behalf of equal rights for all. Lamenting the dismal
prognosis for reform, the immigration rights activist lamented
that her only realistic path toward citizenship is marrying
a citizen. A young Latino man, sporting a backward baseball
cap and "I am Trayvon" sign, noted how he was profiled
and pulled out of a demonstration of over 300 people by Reno
police because of how he looked.
Life's not easy
if you are born brown.
|
 |
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
7-18-2013
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Andrew Barbano, First Vice-President
NAACP Reno-Sparks Branch No. 1112
<barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us>
(775) 786-1455
JUSTICE
FOR TRAYVON RALLY SATURDAY IN RENO
RENO, NEV. USA The Reno-Sparks NAACP will add local
voices to nationwide Justice for Trayvon rallies starting
at 11:00 a.m. this Saturday on the Liberty Street side of
the Bruce Thompson Federal Courthouse at E. Liberty
and S. Virginia in Reno.
National NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said "we
must end the plague of gun violence, fight to roll back 'stand
your ground' laws, pass powerful anti-racial profiling ordinances
and do whatever we must to finally end the wars that are killing
so many children in our neighborhoods.
"And we never stop fighting for justice for Trayvon.
If the voices of hundreds, of thousands, of millions join
together and speak as one, that cannot be ignored," Jealous
said in urging Americans to sign an online
petition to the U.S. Dept. of Justice asking that civil
rights violation charges be filed against Trayvon Martin's
shooter, George Zimmerman.
A southern
Nevada march is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. Saturday
in Las Vegas.
Continuing updates and background information may be viewed
at RenoSparksNAACP.org/
The Reno-Sparks Branch of the nation's oldest and largest
civil rights organization was chartered in 1947.
For Google map purposes: The courthouse address is 400 S.
Virginia, Reno NV 89501
Photo:
Rev. Luther Dupree, Jr., kicks off Trayvon rally in downtown
Reno
Reno
News & Review 7-25-2013
London
Guardian newspaper international investigative reporter Greg
Palast urges Trayvon's dad to sue his son's killer
Truth-Out.org 7-24-2013
Stand
Your Ground law in Nevada was proposed by a Democrat and pushed
by Democrats
Jon
Ralston / 7-22-2013
"Justice
for Trayvon" rally planned for Saturday in Reno
Reno Gazette-Journal / 7-19-2013
Bagging
black bucks in the Gunshine State
Barbwire
by Barbano / Commentary expanded from the
7-18-2013 Sparks Tribune
Reno-Sparks
NAACP Facebook Page
INSTAGRAM:
renosparks_naacp
Site
map
|
We
Don't Need No Education: The neverending series
Nevada and
North Carolina newspapers
Events
68th
Annual Freedom Fund Awards Banquet 10-19-2013
Prayer
vigil for Sparks Middle School shooting victims
Assemblymember
Peggy Pierce, D-Las Vegas, 1954-2013
Reno memorial service announced for Nov. 16
Obamacare
Saturday in Reno
|
|
The
Sierra View Library is located inside Reno Town Mall on the southwest
corner of S. Virginia St. and Neil Road. |
MAY
29: Sen. Harry Reid Keynotes Path to Citizenship Public Assembly
Little Flower Church / Kietzke and E. Plumb Ln. / Reno, NV
Details
in the May 23 Barbwire>
Longing
for the wisdom of the grateful dead
Barbwire
by Barbano / Expanded from the
5-23-2013 Sparks Tribune
NAACP
Mixer 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday 17 April 2013
Wild River Grille, 17 S. Virginia at the Truckee
River
Auld Riverside Hotel / Downtown
Reno
Public invited: Appetizers, cash bar
Be
prepared to commune with flamingly shameless liberals, community
hellraisers, eruditionistic educators, parsimoniously parsing progressives,
pruriently proselytizing politicians, puissant
PR-types, lascivious
lawyers, lugubrious lobbyists, superannuated activists, evil union
bosses, regressively registered voters, political dinosaurs, godawful
gadflies and othersuch obnoxious critters. Obviously, we need
all the help we can get. Additional details: info@renosparksnaacp.org
UPDATE:
Thanks to all who attended and to our hardworking committee that
made everything happen. New contacts were made, old friends reunited,
students embraced former teachers, networks formed, issues were
discussed, goals identified and new directions charted. Don't miss
the next one!
For
all NAACP members, tickets
are $20 for individuals or you may purchase a table of 10 for $175
($17.50 per person). This is a formal attire event. Please join us
for food, music, and guest speakers. Hope to see you all there!
Jeffrey Blanck, Reno-Sparks Branch President
APRIL
ALMANAC
On
April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was shot. He died the next day.

Northern
Nevada MLK Day 2013
Northern Nevada MLK Day 2012
|
Dr.
Kings Two Americas Truer Now than Ever
by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
April 10, 2013
You may think you
know about Martin Luther King, Jr., but there is much
about the man and his message we have conveniently forgotten.
He was a prophet, like Amos, Isaiah and Jeremiah
of old, calling kings and plutocrats to account speaking
truth to power.
King was only 39 when he was murdered in Memphis 45 years
ago, on April 4th, 1968.
The 1963 March
on Washington and the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery
were behind him. So was the successful passage of the Civil
Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. In the last
year of his life, as he moved toward Memphis and his death,
he announced what he called the Poor Peoples Campaign,
a multi-racial army that would come to Washington,
build an encampment and demand from Congress an Economic
Bill of Rights for all Americans black, white,
or brown. He had long known that the fight for racial equality
could not be separated from the need for economic equity
fairness for all, including working people and the poor.
Martin Luther King, Jr., had more than a dream he envisioned
what America could be, if only it lived up to its promise
of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for each and
every citizen. Thats what we have conveniently forgotten
as the years have passed and his reality has slowly been shrouded
in the marble monuments of sainthood.
But read part of the speech Dr. King made at Stanford University
in 1967, a year before his assassination and marvel at how
relevant his words remain...(Read
the entire commentary here...)
|
Site
map
Message
from National President Benjamin Jealous:
Stand with the NAACP to say that voting is a right, not a "racial
entitlement"
Here's what Supreme
Court Justice Antonin Scalia had to say recently when
discussing the wide margin with which the Voting Rights
Act has been reenacted in both the Senate and the House
of Representatives: "Now, I dont think thats
attributable to the fact that it is so much clearer now that
we need this. I think it is attributable, very likely attributable,
to a phenomenon that is called perpetuation of racial entitlement.
Its been written about. Whenever a society adopts racial
entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through
the normal political processes."
Voting isn't an
entitlement but a right one we fought to get and one
we've fought to keep.
Please
sign our petition in support of the Voting Rights Act now.
|
"Antonino
Scalia is perhaps the highest profile example of a descendant
of Italian immigrants who forgot where he came from. I grew
up with some like him." personal opinion of Andrew
Barbano, Reno-Sparks Branch No. 1112
|
NEW
> History of Civil Rights in Nevada
University of Nevada Oral History Program
Includes
links to the story of the fabled Las Vegas Moulin Rouge and the legacies
of
civil rights giants Lubertha Johnson, Grant Sawyer, Ralph Denton and
Clarence Ray
MLK
Weekend 2013
Former
Branch President William Moon honored with Onie Cooper Award
Reno Gazette-Journal / Monday 21 January 2013
Blanck
brings new direction to Reno-Sparks NAACP
Reno Gazette-Journal / Sunday 20 January 2013
Barbwire
MLK Day Trilogy + Poor Denny's Almanac Jan. 15 (MLK's Birthday)
and Jan. 20-21 Inauguration Day
John
F. Kennedy's 2013 inaugural address
Barbwire
by Barbano / Expanded from the 11-22-2012 Daily Sparks Tribune

MLK
Day 2012
|
Reno, NV
The Northern Nevada Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday Committee
and the Nevada Clergy Association announce the 27th
Annual Interfaith Community Memorial Service on Sunday,
January 20, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church,
1265 Montello Street in Reno.
This year's program theme is
"Moving Forward with the Dream." Keynote speaker
will be the Rev. Michael L. Randle, pastor of Second
Baptist Church and president of the African-American Clergy
Council of Northern Nevada.
The Rev.
Onie Cooper Humanitarian Award will be presented to
Elder William "Bill" Moon who serves on the
Executive Committee for the Reno-Sparks Branch of the NAACP.
The award will also be presented to Volunteers of America
(VOA), the non-profit organization that runs family homeless
shelters in downtown Reno. Rachelle Pellissier, regional
vice-president of VOA in northern Nevada, will accept the
award.
Bishop
Gene Savoy, Jr., chairman of the Martin Luther King,
Jr., Holiday Committee and president of the Nevada Clergy
Association, said "we congratulate the recipients of
the Onie Cooper Humanitarian Award for their service
and dedication to helping others as we celebrate the life
and legacy of a great American, especially in the context
of the issues that face us today."
On Monday, January 21, 2013,
the 15th Annual Community Memorial Caravan will depart
Second Baptist Church at 10:30 a.m. Participants will drive
a portion of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Highway (I-580)
to honor King. The caravan will leave the church and drive
north to Stead Blvd. It will proceed south to Neil Road and
then back to the church, where a reception will be held.
Events are free and open to
the public. For information, call the Nevada Clergy Association
at (775) 786-1800 or e-mail Bishop
Savoy.
|
Reno-Sparks
NAACP swears in new officers Jan. 3, 2013
Jeffrey Blanck first
non-African-American leader in Reno-Sparks Branch 66-year
history
RENO,
Nev. The Reno-Sparks NAACP will swear in new leadership
at its meeting on Thursday, Jan. 3.
 |
Jeffrey
Blanck
|
|
Longtime
Reno attorney Jeffrey Blanck, who previously served
as second vice-president and legal redress chair, will succeed
Lonnie Feemster who is concluding the last of four
non-consecutive two-year terms.
Blanck
becomes the first non-African-American president in the branch's
66-year history.
"I
am proud that our leadership and membership reflect the rich
diversity of our community and our country," Blanck said.
Feemster
expressed optimism for the incoming officers and executive
committee members of the local civil rights advocacy organization.
"I have worked with most of the incoming group and I
know they are dedicated and committed to the work of the NAACP.
I am proud to have served four terms as president of our local
branch and will continue to work to reduce racial disparities
and discrimination in our community," Feemster stated.
Lonnie Feemster will continue to serve on the branch executive
committee and as the Nevada State Director for the NAACP National
Voter Fund.
The new leadership will be sworn in at the branch's regular
monthly meeting, 6:00 p.m. Thursday, January 3, 2013, 1094
E. 8th St., Reno, NV 89512.
The
2013-2014 governing body of the Reno-Sparks NAACP
 |
AFTER
SWEARING IN (3 Jan. 2013) Standing, left
to right: Sharrone Blanck, Gale Sanders, Lonnie
Feemster, Donald Gallimore Sr., Patricia Gallimore,
Larry Wilson, Jimi Sheryl Bufkin, Dr. R. Grant Seals
(rear), Elder William Moon (in white, front), Tommie
J. Vance, Andrew Barbano, Lucille Adin. Seated,
left to right: Jeffrey Blanck, Heather Hauskins,
Jane Moon. (Sherleta Gambrell photo) |
Jeffrey
Blanck, President
Andrew Barbano, First Vice-President
Patricia Gallimore, Second Vice-President
George Hardaway, Third Vice-President
Olene Boyer, Secretary*
Dolores Feemster, Assistant Secretary
Heather Hauskins, Treasurer*
Lucille Adin, Assistant Treasurer*
EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
Sharrone Blanck, Jimi Bufkin,
Ceola Davis, Darryl Feemster, Lonnie Feemster, Donald
Gallimore Sr., Brian A. Jackson, Jane Moon, Elder
William Moon, Bertha Mullins, Gale Sanders, Dr.
R. Grant Seals, James H. Stinson, Tommie J. Vance,
Maria A. Velez, Rev. William Webb, Larry
Wilson
*UPDATE:
Ms. Boyer was unable to accept the office of secretary
due to health reasons. President Jeffrey Blanck has
appointed Heather Hauskins to replace her and has
named Lucille Adin as treasurer.
Reno-Sparks
Branch Past-Presidents Honor Roll
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All
were elected to two-year terms last November.
The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, the nation's leading civil
rights organization, was founded in 1909.
Reno-Sparks Branch No. 1112 was chartered in 1947.
Membership applications, dues payments, civil rights complaint
forms and other information may be accessed via RenoSparksNAACP.org
E-mail <info@renosparksnaacp.org>
U.S. Postal Service Address: P.O. Box 7757, Reno, NV 89510
Phone (775) 322-2992
A version of the
above appeared in the Reno Gazette-Journal on Saturday,
5 Jan 2013. We are informed that another version will appear
in Northern Nevada Business Weekly
on 14 Jan. 2013.
Additional
media
Jeff Blanck on KOLO TV-8 (ABC) News at 6:00 a.m. and 11:30
a.m. PST 9 Jan 2013.
Jeff Blanck on KUNR-fm 88-7 (NPR) at 2:00 p.m. PST 9 Jan.
2013
Jeff Blanck on Get
Real, America! with Chip Evans and Verita
Black-Prothro, KJFK 1230-am,
9:00 a.m. PST 19 Jan. 2013 >iTunes
December
26, 2012
Dear
Reno/Sparks NAACP members:
I have the honor and privilege to serve as the president
of the Reno/Sparks Branch of the NAACP for the next
two years.
Historically,
the NAACP has focused on issues with black Americans.
That focus will remain, but we also deal with all discrimination
based on the color of a persons skin.
Two
major areas of concern for me are public education and
the criminal court system. The dropout rates for black
and brown children are well above the state and national
average. Racial bullying occurs regularly. An inordinately
high number of our children of color are being sent
to juvenile hall, and an excessively high number of
people of color are being incarcerated in state prison.
Obviously, I cannot solve all of our discrimination
problems alone. I need your help and your input.
Attached
is the schedule and location of our monthly
meetings that I hope you will all attend. We need
to increase our membership to include our college students,
working adults, and professionals. Everyone is welcome
to join the NAACP regardless of their race or color.
I also want to plan events that will bring our community
together. I want the Reno/Sparks Branch to be at the
center of all civil rights issues facing our community.
Through our combined efforts we can accomplish our goal
of decreasing the negative impacts of racial discrimination.
Since I do not know many of you personally, I have attached
my biography for your review. This
will give you some insight into who I am.
I look forward to meeting all of you and working with
you to implement Dr. Kings dream of a society
where people are judged not by the color of their skin
but by the content of their character.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey S. Blanck
President Elect, Reno/Sparks NAACP
Jeffrey
S. Blanck: Biography
I
was born in 1954 in Mt. Vernon, New York, just outside
the Bronx. I have two older sisters and our family of
five lived in a one bedroom apartment. We moved to Los
Angeles in 1961 when my father got a job in the aerospace
industry working for NASA on the Gemini and Apollo missions.
I went through high school in Los Angeles and attended
USC on a gymnastics scholarship in 1971. For my sophomore
year, I transferred to UC Davis on an academic scholarship
and studied Agriculture and Ecology. I received my Bachelors
degree in Agricultural Ecology in 1975 and worked in
various areas of agriculture such as cattle ranching,
crop production, feedlots and grain inspection.
In 1979, I returned to college to obtain a second Bachelors
degree in Russian Language and Literature at George
Washington University in Washington, D.C.. I also attended
Middlebury Colleges intensive language programs
for two summers in Vermont and obtained my Bachelors
degree in Russian in 1980.
I was hired by NBC to be a guide at the Moscow Olympics
but the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan but we boycotted
the Olympics. I then applied and was accepted to law
school at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.
I obtained my law degree in 1984 and joined my father
(who went to law school at age 40) in his law practice.
We represented school districts, businesses, and criminals
on appeal. When my father retired in 1988, I was hired
as Deputy County Counsel of El Dorado County in Placerville,
California. After a year, I was hired as the Agency
Counsel for Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA)
in Lake Tahoe.
Four years later in 1993, I left TRPA and went to study
Hebrew, Religion and Culture at an institute in the
Judean Desert in Israel for six months. I then returned
to the Bay Area in 1994 and worked for an international
Human Resources training firm as well as a nonprofit
agency that trained Russian lawyers in environmental
advocacy.
I met my African-American wife Sharrone in 1995 and
we were married in 1997. My wife and I have two biracial
sons, Noah, who is 14, and Max, who is 12. Noah attends
Wooster High Schools IB program and Max attends
High Desert Montessori School. My wife works for the
State in Early Childhood Development. Now, being a member
of a family of color, I have witnessed firsthand the
disparity in treatment, institutional racism, and, at
times, overt racism that still exists in our society.
My family is Jewish and in 1998 while we were members
of Temple Emanuel in Reno, my wife taught at the religious
school that both my sons attended. Over two years the
Temple was firebombed twice by white supremacists. I
served as the President of Temple Emanuel and later
as the president of Temple Sinai, where my family is
currently members and my wife, Noah and I teach at the
religious school.
In February 1998, my family and I came to Reno because
I was hired as the first General Counsel for the Washoe
County School District. In 2003, I reported financial
and other misconduct committed by the Superintendent
to the Board of Trustees of the District. The Board
capitulated to the superintendents demands to
have me terminated or he would quit. I was terminated
in March of 2004 and the superintendent resigned three
months later.
As a private attorney I joined the Reno/Sparks branch
of the NAACP in 2004 and have been the Legal Redress
Committee Chair since that time. In 2010, I became the
second vice-president. I have attended seven of the
two-day legal seminars held at the NAACP National Conventions
over the past eight years and I am currently a Silver
Life member of the NAACP.
From 2004 to the present, I have been an attorney in
private practice focusing on Civil Rights, Employment,
and Education matters. I represent people of color in
federal and state courts on discrimination claims, wrongful
termination of employees in administrative hearings,
teachers facing discipline, students with disabilities,
charter schools and people who are denied their First
Amendment, Fourth Amendment and due process rights.
My recreational activities include whitewater rafting
(which I have been doing for over 30 years) hiking,
camping, mountain biking, reading and writing.
I look forward to working with all of you over the next
two years as president of NAACP Reno-Sparks Branch No.
1112.
|
Meetings
are held on the second Thursday of each month
Rita Cannan
Elementary School / Multi-purpose Room
2450 Cannan Street * Reno, NV 89512
Executive Committee 6:30 p.m. / General Membership 7:00
p.m.
Meeting agendas
|
|

In hoc signo vinces.
|
 |
Dear
Members and Friends: At left is a Save-Mart SHARES card.
If you don't have one, please
contact us to get one that's been coded especially for
the Branch. You must obtain them from us, not at
Save-Mart. It is a very important fundraising tool. Please
use it at checkout whenever you patronize Save-Mart. Up
to 3 percent of your purchase will be sent to the Branch.
There is no cost to you. If you need additional cards for
family and friends, just let us know.
Please spread the word. Thank you. |
|
We
don't need no education>The continuing investigative series
Information
for those especially parents who do not believe every
press release they read.
Nevada
and North Carolina newspapers
Happy
César Chávez
Day
César
Chávez Celebration XI at Circus Circus-Reno
Thursday
/ March 28, 2013
¡Sí
se puede!
Site
map
Join
Us in Fighting the Good Fight
Purchase
Freedom Fund Banquet tickets, donate to the branch
or pay your membership dues via the secure EBay/PayPal system
Membership
Annual
Dues: $30 for individuals
Please make checks payable to
NAACP
Reno-Sparks Branch No.
1112
P.O. Box 7757
Reno, NV 89510
Membership
Forms, choose format: .jpg
or .pdf
Please
click here or call 775-322-2992
for
additional membership and sponsorship information.
Youth membership and corporate sponsorships
are also available.
 |
Dear
Members and Friends: At left is a Save-Mart SHARES card.
If you don't have one, please
contact us to get one that's been coded especially for
the Branch. You must obtain them from us, not at
Save-Mart. It is a very important fundraising tool. Please
use it at checkout whenever you patronize Save-Mart. Up
to 3 percent of your purchase will be sent to the Branch.
There is no cost to you. If you need additional cards for
family and friends, just let us know.
Please spread the word. Thank you. |
|
In
the News
Assemblymember
Peggy Pierce, D-Las Vegas, 1954-2013
USA
at crossroads:
New Deal or
new Confederacy?
Barbwire
by Barbano / Expanded from the
10-10-2013 Sparks Tribune
Low-income
penalty: Nevada socks it to the working poor
BARBANO:
Nevada is one big company town
Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 10-10-2013
State
of Health
National health care comes up against a very sick state. WHAT'S
IN IT FOR US?
Dennis Myers / Reno News & Review 10-10-2013
Sex,
sports and rock 'n' roll dept.
Moneyball:
Invest in texting, tweeting & twerking
Barbwire by Barbano / Expanded from the
10-3-2013 Sparks Tribune
On
July 6, 1868, the South Carolina House convened with
the only African-American majority in a state legislature
in U.S. history (this 75 to 49 majority sought reforms in
education, jury trials, local government and land ownership),
though tales of irresponsible post-civil war black legislatures
abound in fiction, including some textbooks.
|
From longtime Nevada reporter Dennis
Myers' daily online Poor Denny's Almanac
Copyright © 2013 Dennis Myers. Used by permission.
|
 |
The
Abolitionists
now on PBS Premiering January 8, 15 and 22, 2013. Abolitionist
allies Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet
Beecher Stowe, John Brown and Angelina Grimké turned
a despised fringe movement against chattel slavery into a
force that literally changed the nation. Check local listings
for times and reruns. PBS.org usually has local program information
posted.
|
WHY
WATCH? The
more things change, the more they stay the same. Human
rights activists estimate that human trafficking worldwide
today ranges into the millions. The United States and Nevada
are by no means immune. Las Vegas has long been infamous as
a hub for the trade in underaged girls. National
and international estimates vary for reasons obvious and
arcane. The U.S. court system is and has been creating a permanent
underclass of secondary citizens. For more, read The
New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. And watch these
programs.
|
Déjà
Vu All Over Again>The
2013 Progressive State of State Address
Former State Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno / 9 January 2013
Nevadalabor.com
Wal-Mart Nevada Archive
2013
Freedom Fund Awards Banquet
The 68th
Annual Reno-Sparks Branch Freedom Fund Awards Banquet will be held
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, at the Atlantis Hotel-Casino in Reno. State
Sen. Patricia Spearman, D-North Las Vegas, will be keynote speaker.
Click here
for information on sponsorship, program advertising and ticket prices.
Freedom
Fund Awards Banquet Archives
|