Friday, October 21, 2011

Learn more about the death penalty and what citizens can do to oppose it.




AI Midwest Regional in Kansas City, October 28-30
Join Amnesty International, ACLU, Missourians Against Death Penalty and the Justice for Reggie Campaign for a Kick off Rally for Reggie!!!!  The rally is Friday, October 28 at5:30 pm at the J.C. Nichols Fountain, 47th & Main. Reggie’s parents will be speakers.
If you are in or near the Kansas City area next weekend, make plans to attend the Regional as we intensify our efforts to save Reggie and end the death penalty in Missouri. For those in St. Louis, it’s about a 3-1/2 hour drive. For information at the conference, visit the AI website at http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/regional-conferences/midwest-regional-conference.


ALSO - 



March 5 is the new hearing date in Reggie Clemmons case - will you watch to see that justice is done?

We will be intensifying our efforts on the ground from now until March 5 to talk about Reggie’s case. We will be using the traditional media, social networking, petitioning, speakers’ bureau, etc. to get our message out.  Please join us, our partners and friends as we bringMissouri to the forefront.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

48th Freedom Fund Dinner & Silent Auction set for November 18, 2011

Law Professor S. David Mitchell to Keynote the Jefferson City, MO NAACP 48th Annual Freedom Fund Dinner November 18, 2011






Sponsors
2011 Freedom Fund Dinner

Platinum Sponsorship 
Environmental Engineering
Missouri National Guard


Gold Sponsorship
Ameren UE
Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys


Silver Sponsorship
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated
Central Bank
CenturyLink
Hawthorn Bank
Jefferson City School Board
Lincoln University Foundation
Missouri AFL-CIO
Second Baptist Church

Special Contributions
Capital Region Medical Center
Dashtaki Law Firm
Darryl Driver, Esq.
Mr. and Mrs. James Gearhart
St. Mary’s Health Center


 Donations
Capital Plaza Hotel
Lowes
The Y (YMCA)
Bag Lady Exchange
River City Florist
Mr. and Mrs. Gearhart
Lee’s Chicken
Perkins Restaurant
Judge Jon R. Gray
Pizza Hut
Scholastic
Applebee’s Restaurant
Will West Music Store
AFI Gallery
Director Kevin Willmott
Glenn Bonner, Realtor
Unilever
Central Bank
Mid-America Construction Management
Oak Hills Golf Center
Sweet Surrender Farms, Russellville MO
Best Western Capital Inn
Nimrod and Denise Chapel, Jr.




Awards


PRESIDENTIAL CHOICE AWARD

Dorothy Jones
Major Gregory L. Sampson
Master Sergeant Mary L. Williams

This Presidential Choice Award is given to an organization or individuals in the public/private sector, in recognition of its/their commitment and dedication to equal opportunity, access, employment, diversity, community support and leadership.



MYRTLE SMITH ODEN YOUNG ADULT SERVICE AWARD

Representative Jay Barnes

The Myrtle Smith Oden Service Award is given to individuals who have worked faithfully in the NAACP
or other civic organizations for the overall betterment of the community.



LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD

Dr. Arnold G. Parks

The Lifetime Service Award is given in recognition of an individual for a lifetime career, dedicated toward the cause of justice, equal opportunity and civil rights for all people.

Awardees and Criteria for Scholarships

Mr. Isaiah Edoho
Ms. Haley Johannpeter
Saundra Allen Good Citizenship Award

Awarded to a Lincoln University student who has demonstrated good citizenship.  The $500 scholarship is given in honor of Mrs. Saundra Allen, an outstanding citizen and teacher who has made significant contributions to the Jefferson City Public School System and the community through her time, resources, and leadership for the course of peace, justice, and equality for all who reside in Jefferson City.

Mr. Gregory McAboy
Lorine F. Knight Minority Education Scholarship

Awarded to a minority student majoring in Education at Lincoln University, who wishes to become a teacher and who demonstrates a need for financial assistance. This $500 scholarship is presented each year at the annual Freedom Fund Dinner and is to be applied toward the recipient’s tuition. The scholarship is given in honor of Dr. Lorine F. Knight, the first female Ph.D. at Lincoln University, a devout, courageous and honest Secretary-Treasurer of the Jefferson City NAACP for 27 years. Dr. William A. Ross, past President of the Jefferson City Branch, underwrote this scholarship for decades.






S. David Mitchell
Associate Professor of Law
University of Missouri

Professor S. David Mitchell earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Political Science from Brown University in 1991.  Following a brief stint as a paralegal in a large New York law firm, he joined the history department at his high school alma mater, Collegiate School, where he taught U.S. History, South African History, and a course comparing black protest in the Caribbean and the United States entitled “Rebellions, Revolutions and Riots.”  He also served as the Director of Student Diversity, the Sophomore Class Dean, and an Assistant Track Coach. 

In 1997, Professor Mitchell matriculated to the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a dual a degree in the law and sociology.  He would earn a Master of Arts in Sociology in 1999 and a law degree in 2002.  In law school, he served as a member of the Student Ethics and Responsibility Committee, the Jessup International Moot Court Team and Board, the American Inns of Court and the Black Law Students Association.   

After graduating from law school, he served as a law clerk in the District Court of Maryland to the Honorable Andre M. Davis, who was recently elevated to the Fourth Circuit of Appeals.  Professor Mitchell then headed to the University of Colorado at Boulder as a Scholar in Residence in the Department of Sociology.  Two years later, in 2006, he joined the faculty at the University of Missouri, School of Law where he currently teaches courses in both civil and criminal law, was recently awarded tenure.  Professor Mitchell’s engages in an interdisciplinary approach to the study of criminal law where he focuses on felon disenfranchisement, collateral consequences and ex-offender reentry and reintegration. 

Professor Mitchell has been honored for his teaching and service, receiving the Alpha Kappa Delta Award “For Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Service to the Students of Sociology” at the University of Colorado.  In his time at the University of Missouri, he has received the Gold Chalk Award and a Minority Faculty and Staff Appreciation Award from the Legion of Black Collegians. 

Professor Mitchell is a member of the Boone County Offender Transition Network, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Boone County Community Partnership, and currently on the Board of the Columbia Montessori School.  Professor Mitchell is currently on leave from the university researching ex-offender reentry in Missouri as a Faculty Fellow with the Supreme Court of Missouri.  He is married to Dr. Enid Schatz, an Assistant Professor in the Women and Gender Studies Department at the University of Missouri and has one son, Langston.


OPEN LETTER OF INVITATION 
Dear Friend,
The Jefferson City Branch of the NAACP will host its 48th Annual Freedom Fund Dinner and Silent Auction at the Capitol Plaza Hotel on Friday, November 18, 2011. This is an occasion to reflect upon the past and embrace our future.  We invite you to join us as we celebrate our theme, “How Long? Not Long.”
The Annual Freedom Fund Dinner is our primary fund-raiser to support branch activities and operation expenses. These funds provide high school, college and law school scholarships, access to limited legal information, support for local prison branches as VIC’s (Volunteers in Corrections), officer training, and representative participation at state and national conferences.  In addition, chapter volunteers work with area schools to promote understanding about diversity concerns, and work with the Armed Services on equity issues.  Since this is a volunteer organization, no funds are used for salaries.  This branch requires approximately $10,000 per year and needs a small office.  We would appreciate your support as an attendee, sponsor, and/or benefactor.
Our silent auction and reception start at 6:00 p.m. and dinner follows at 7:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $40 individually or as part of an organizational sponsorship. In conjunction with this year’s dinner, we will issue a beautiful souvenir advertisement in the News Tribune to thank our sponsors as well as create permanent posts on our blog and Facebook. The enclosed brochure provides information on purchasing tickets, ads and sponsorships. Tickets will be mailed upon receipt of your check until November 14th , after which tickets will be reserved in your name at the door. Sponsorship tables will be reserved in the name of the sponsoring organization and/or individual.
I look forward to seeing you at the Capitol Plaza Hotel on November 18th  at the 48th  Annual Freedom Fund Dinner. Your participation is truly appreciated.  Please call (573) 230-6424 for tickets.

Yours sincerely,

Nimrod Chapel, Jr.
President
Jefferson City Unit 4064
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Jefferson City NAACP addresses the death penalty & education in Jefferson City

Jefferson City NAACP Agenda for the Fall - 
More information will be added to this post, but please mark your calendar now


 NOVEMBER 21, 2011

November 21st, our speaker will address the death penalty and its implications.  I am Troy Davis.  I am Reggie Clemmons.  I am every nameless faceless person dehumanized by a system of execution that is more predictable by skin color and socioeconomic stats than any other factor.  Please join us at Lincoln University Library at 6 PM for the NAACP General Body Meeting.

Our speaker this month is Tim Cisar - Mr. Cisar lawyer in the Lake of the Ozarks area who has a range of experience, defended death penalty cases and is prepared to deliver an important commentary on the death penalty in Missouri.  http://www.cisarlawfirm.com/profiles.php


Born San Antonio, Texas, February 4, 1957; admitted to bar, 1983, Missouri Preparatory education, University of Notre Dame (B.A., 1979); legal education, St. Louis University (J.D., 1983).  Municipal Judge: Lake Ozark, Missouri, 1985-89; Eldon, Missouri 2003-present.  Member: Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Camden County (Treasurer, 1984-85) and 26th Judicial Circuit (Miller County Representative) Bar Associations; National College for DUI Defense; The Missouri Bar; Missouri Association of Criminal  Defense Lawyers (Board of Directors, 1996-00; Treasurer 2001; Secretary 2002; Vice-President, 2003); National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; President of the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for 2004-05; successfully completed the DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Program put forth by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration on September 8-10, 2011. 

Also, we are forming a Criminal Justice Committee and would love your support and participation.  Contact jcnaacp@gmail.com.


OCTOBER 
At the October 17th Dr. Brian Mitchell will detail plans for the Jefferson City, MO School District and options available for the public to select from.   Please join us at Lincoln University Library at 6 PM for the NAACP General Body Meeting.

The NAACP has recently released Framework for Providing All Students an Opportunity to Learn.  It is worth reading and sharing.

Also from the school district's website you can see what changes are proposed and related information including JCMO survey results:
High School Facilities & 21st Century Education:  Survey Results A reminder to Key Communicators that we have posted results of initial surveys to determine community understanding and support of potential changes at the 9-12 grade levels.  The initial survey was implemented in May and June as a "stopping off point" to learn what people know, what they hope to see, and what else we need to share with them.  Please visit this link and look in the survey result file at the bottom of the page:  http://www.jcps.k12.mo.us/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=65788&