Bias Policing Bill passed by Seattle City Council

"We keep having the debate that our police aren't bias or racist. News flash: yes they are. I'm not saying all police are that way, but I'm calling on ALL police; when you see these rotten apples in your ranks, remove them!"- President Hankerson, during the committee hearing.

City Inside/Out: McCleary Mess  3/3/2017 28:55
Seattle Channel
The Washington state Legislature must come up with a plan to amply fund K-12 education this year. But with multiple competing visions, can lawmakers find a way to compromise and meet the McCleary mandate in time? Why are school districts like Seattle planning budget cuts now? The new state schools superintendent and regional education leaders offer a progress report on the stalemate in Olympia and their reactions to proposals for fixing the public-education funding crisis.

On the show: 
Rita Green, Education Chair, NAACP 
Leslie Harris, V.P., Seattle School Board 
Eden Mack, Legislative Chair, Seattle Council PTSA 
Kim Mead, President, WA Education Association 
Erin Okuno, Exec. Dir., Southeast Seattle Education Coalition 
Chris Reykdal, Superintendent, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
Summer Stinson, V.P., Washington's Paramount Duty

Vice President II Dr. Sheley Secrest talks to The Advise Show out of Houston, Texas about why she got involved with the NAACP and what we're working on now. 

Community demands new juvenile jail plans be scrapped
KIRO 7
On Wednesday, leaders from the NAACP, Ending the Prison Industrial Complex (EPIC), Anti-Racist Organizing Network and other groups called the new facility an example of racism within the criminal justice system.

The new $210 million Children and Family Justice Center will replace the King County Youth Services Center at 12th Avenue and Alder.  According to King County’s website, “replacing the aging facilities at the YSC has been the county’s highest priority capital project since 2008.”  But those gathered outside Bethany United Church of Christ on Wednesday called the new facility another way to incarcerate disproportionately more African-American children, and youth of color, than anyone else.  “All of the numbers, all of the reports, show that we lock black children, Native (American) children, Latino children up because of the color of their skin,” Sheley Secrest of the Seattle King County NAACP said.  Secrest believes leaders from local minority communities should have been part of the planning process before the votes were cast in 2012, because children of color make up the majority of youth detained in King County.

“Right now, the whole country is focusing on criminal justice reform and mass incarceration,” Seattle King County NAACP President Gerald Hankerson said.  “And we still watch Seattle and King County move forward, building a new palace to house all of our children rather than investing in the things that are necessary to prevent them from being there,” he said. 

Seattle church mourns South Carolina victims King 5
SEATTLE - At First African Methodist Episcopal, instead of struggle through a difficult day, they opt to search for needed strength. A simple note left on the front door provides some support.

Pauline Hill works at the church and found the note uplifting. "Please know your church and its parishioners are respected and loved. I am so sorry for your AME loss," read Hill. Hill is mourning the loss at their sister church in her home state of South Carolina. That is why she was among the crowd of people who attended a prayer vigil Thursday night.

Gerald Hankerson, President of Seattle King County NAACP, said it has been a long day and he has shed a lot of tears. "The massacre that occurred there yesterday is nothing short of an act of terror," said Hankerson.

Reverend Aaron Williams of Mount Zion Baptist Church said its time to stand in solidarity with Emanuel AME church. "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power," said Rev. Williams. Church leaders said they are determined to not let hate win.

February 2, 2016
NAACP launches program to improve Seattle race relations
King5 News
​SEATTLE -- February is Black History Month and, this year, it marks the start of a campaign for a new initiative in Seattle aimed creating positive race relations. The Seattle and King County NAACP is behind the effort...“In order to move the conversation forward in a productive way, we have to be talking about institutional and structural racism and how that plays out in our communities,” said DeCruz. Both Steele and DeCruz say that, with a little effort, creating better race relations doesn't have to be difficult. “The biggest thing is the unknown,” said Steele. “People have to get to know each other.”

From YouTube: 
Published on Aug 10, 2015
In the year since Mike Brown's death, racism has dominated the headlines. Nowhere is America's racial divide more obvious than in public schools.

Seattle King County NAACP Confronts Tukwila School District on Racist Hiring Practices Encourages District to Hire Teachers of Color

Tukwila, WA—On Tuesday, April 28th, members of the Seattle King County NAACP, including Education Chair Rita Green, will confront the Tukwila School District on their failure to hire teachers of color for the 18 open teaching and administrative positions within one of the most diverse school districts in the country.

Following concerns raised by someone involved in the hiring process, the Seattle King County NAACP is calling on the Tukwila School District to actively recruit qualified teachers of color to help diversify the teaching and administrative staff within the school district.

Mass Incarceration: March 20, 2015

There are over 2.4 million people sitting in American prisons right now. Rates of incarceration in this country have increased 400% over the past 30 years. Between 1990 and 2009 the number of Americans housed in private prisons has risen 1600%. This has led many to declare that we are living in an age of mass incarceration driven by a justice system that is over-criminalizing the citizenry, and in particular, racial minorities, low income individuals and youth.

What is driving this explosive growth in incarceration rates nationally? What are the impacts of high levels of imprisonment on overall crime? What rehabilitation programs are in place to counter recidivism and are they showing results?

On this episode of Inside Outlook, host Gavin P. Sullivan moderates a discussion on these questions and more.

Guests include:
J. Wesley Saint Clair, judge, King County Superior Court
Rebecca Roe, lawyer, Schroeter, Glodmark, Bender
Gerald Hankerson, president, Seattle King County NAACP
Nikkita Oliver, organizer, UW law student
Dan Satterberg, prosecuting attorney, King County

Video and description courtesy of UWTV
More information about this show and UWTV can be found at: 
http://insideoutlook.tv
http://uwtv.org

From Q13 News: Now the NAACP is calling for the officer’s termination, claiming the federally mandated reforms have still not changed officers’ behavior.

“This is indicative of their behavior and attitude which is what we’re trying to change,” said Gerald Hankerson. ”We expect our police department to have the utmost respect and dignity, they should be the model of the nation of what we’re supposed to look like. I thought that’s what we supposed to get that after the DOJ left but here we are seeing the same thing over and over again.”

President Hankerson speaks with Essex Porter (Kiro 7) calling on the termination of the SPD officer who arrested
a 70 year old man walking through Seattle with a golf club as a cane. "She should not be walking around the 
streets of Seattle as a police officer. She violated her oath of office". 

President Hankerson speaks to King 5 News on what the local perspectives are 
about what is going on in Ferguson, Missouri as the Nation waits for the grand jury 
announcement. 

Former President James Bible (42:00), President Hankerson (47:00) and Economic Development Chair
Sheley Secrest (1:15:00) speak at a community forum on September 10th in SeaTac, WA in regards to 
the relationship between law enforcement and the community. 

President Hankerson is the guest speaker at September 3rd's Seattle Center Lunch and Learn Session.

NAACP: Fire transportation secretary over tunnel contract Failure
By Graham Johnson
A Seattle-area NAACP leader called on Gov.  Jay Inslee on Monday, to fire Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson because not enough work on the SR99 tunnel beneath Seattle has gone to businesses owned by women and minorities.

Above is the Press Conference from the Centennial Celebration on November 2nd. 

Starting at minute 10.26, Dr. Sheley Secrest, Economic Development Chair, testifies before the Seattle City Council's Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee on December 16, 2013 in support of Resolution 31435. The City Council unanimously voted to design a program for principal reduction for homeowners. 

Starting at minute 11:00, Dr. Sheley Secrest, Economic Development Chair, testifies before the Seattle City Council's Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee on December 11, 2013 in support of Resolution 31435 regarding "Exploring mortgage principal reduction and other foreclosure prevention programs, in order to support and revitalize communities impacted by the foreclosure crisis".

Charles V. Johnson (ret), Assistant Treasurer and active in the Branch for over 55 years: 
This is an oral history recorded by the University of Washington: Seattle Civil Rights and 
Labor History Project. http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/johnson.htm

President Bible is interviewed.

President James Bible addresses the crowd at Westlake Center during the Hoodies Up for Trayvon Rally on July 14th. 

Vice President Gerald Hankerson speaks before the Seattle City Council in favor of the Job Assistance Bill. (19:00-21:10) "I've seen the many obstacles that are put in the way of people for the tools in order to survive. Unless you’re willing to do something really strong, as Councilman Harrell has done here, to introduce this legislation, you can’t complain about the recidivism”.

Starting at minute 60:30, Vice President Gerald Hankerson testified before the Seattle City Council's Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee on March 13, 2013 in support of Resolution 31434 regarding the foreclosure crisis and local solutions. 

Vice President Gerald Hankerson testified before the House Committee on Public Safety on February 5th opposing House Bill 1338 which concerns juveniles sentenced to long terms of incarceration.

President James Bible addressed a crowd of 5,000 at Seattle's March 25h, 2012 rally and march to protest the shooting of Trayvon Martin. 

Seattle King County NAACP Vice President Gerald Hankerson promotes tolerance and respect. 

Friday, March 02, 2012 

In a later interview, Hankerson noted the widening achievement gap between white students and students of color. “One of our biggest fears right now is the drop out rate, it’s almost double that of white students,” Hankerson said.

Hankerson believes that gap is visible even when students stay in school. “...the reason [programs like] AP classes have more whites than blacks is because [white students] are the ones that actually get more access to resources that enable them,” he said. In order to improve these statistics, Hankerson thinks the way students of color are educated needs to become “more culturally competent,” saying that many history textbooks leave out the achievements of minorities.

Hankerson wants all students, regardless of their backgrounds, to understand the importance of getting an education, one in a setting that encourages open-minded discussions of difficult topics like race.

Full Article: http://my.hsj.org/506268
by Amelia Elizalde

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