SAY NO! TO JIM CROW!

HCS HB 320 was Perfected on a voice vote yesterday afternoon in the House.  Now is the time to make your voices heard!  Call your legislature NOW!  Calling your Senator is the best option - if you need help with the look up click below and enter you Zip Code and then call and tell them you think its immoral, unAmerican, and improper for the state to make discrimination harder to prove, imposing unconstitutional caps on damages, and reviving Jim Crow.

Legislator Look Up and tell the same thing to your house representative in case they failed to vote the way you wanted them to - against HCS 320.

Opposes HCS HB 320 on employment discrimination and whistleblower retaliation. The current version does not address our primary concerns nor the concerns expressed by the Governor in his veto message on HB 1219 (2012).

We oppose this bill because, among other reasons, the current version contains the following provisions:

• requires the discrimination to be the motivating factor in the adverse employment decision
• eliminates the ability to sue the individual bad actor
• caps noneconomic damages at $500,000 or 5 times the amount of economic damages in both MHRA and whistleblower cases
• eliminates punitive damages for political subdivisions
• eliminates attorneys fees in MHRA cases
• eliminates protections for whistleblowers if the act being reported never occurred (no protection for reporting planned acts)

HCS HB 320 is a step backward in preventing discrimination against employees for religion, race, gender, age, ethnicity, disability or national origin. This does not make Missouri's Human Rights Act mirror the Federal law-- it picks the parts of Federal and State laws that allow for the most discrimination and make them the law of Missouri. 

HCS HB 320 does not protect whistleblowers.  This bill makes it harder for them to protect themselves against the retaliation of the bad actors who employ them. It is a bad idea for Missouri to discourage whistleblowing by reducing the protections they enjoy under the current system.

Your NAACP KCMO Branch invites members and the public to attend the following upcoming events:

February General Membership Meeting                 Tues, February 19th @ 6:30 pm

The February general membership meeting will take place on Tues, Feb. 19th at 6:30 pm at the Brush Creek Community Center, Cleveland Ave & Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd, KCMO.  Branch business will be handled first, with a presentation to begin about 7:15 pm.  John Bluford, President & CEO of Truman Medical Center (TMC) will provide status of the proposed grocery store at 27^th & Troost and updates on other TMC initiatives. 

Branch Black History Celebration                               Sun, February 24th @ 3:00 pm

The Branch will host its annual Black History Celebration on Sunday, Feb. 24th @ 3:00 pm at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, 3700 Blue Pkwy, KCMO.  The program will focus on the Emancipation Proclamation and related issues surrounding the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th Constitutional Amendments.  Special recognition will be given to Dr. Julia Hill for her six decades of service to the civil rights movement.  Light refreshments will be served.                               CLICK ON THE ATTACHED FLYER for more details!!

We look forward to seeing YOU at both events!

Sincerely,

Anita L. Russell, Branch President

Mary Ann Grayson, Branch Secretary

Kansas City, MO NAACP

T: 816-421-1191

E: naacpkcmo@sbcglobal.net

George Allen Will Remain Free—After being Wrongly convicted and imprisoned for three decades.                              

On Dec. 27, a Missouri appeals court, thankfully, refused to overturn a judge’s order that released George Allen. The St. Louis man had been imprisoned for nearly 30 years on a murder charge. “’We’re thrilled, we’re absolutely thrilled,’ said Barry Scheck, co-director of the Innocence Project and one of the lawyers representing” Allen, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported the following day.

“Allen, 56, was released in November after Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green voided Allen’s convictions for murder, rape, sodomy and first-degree burglary in the killing of Mary Bell, 31. Green faulted city police for failing to turn over evidence to prosecutors and a ‘deeply flawed’ interrogation that led to a ‘dubious’ confession.

“’The undisclosed evidence, considered together, points unavoidably to the conclusion that the police — and Detective (Herb) Riley in particular — ignored and hid evidence pointing to someone else as the perpetrator in their zealous pursuit of Allen’s conviction,’ Green wrote.

“St. Louis prosecutors announced Nov. 7 that they would not retry Allen, saying that among other things, two key witnesses who might have explained the issues with Allen’s confession and the police interrogation have since died.” Attorney General Chris Koster, gratefully, has finally agreed not to push for a new trial.

To read the full article, log onto
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/appeals-court-rejects-challenge-to-st-louis-man-s-prison/article_40a8027f-002c-5245-8a6e-0efecdde0581.html

To read the November news release from the Innocence Project about his release, log ontohttp://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/St_Louis_Man_Who_Narrowly_Escaped_the_Death_Penalty_Released_After_Serving_More_Than_30_Years_In_Spite_of_Meritless_Appeal_by_AG.php?utm_source=AdaptiveMailer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=November%20Newsletter&org=460&lvl=100&ite=421&lea=851758&ctr=0&par=1 

Fellowship of Reconciliation-Mid-MO chapter

Press Release: St. Louis County Branch NAACP

For Immediate Release

 January  2013

Former Missouri Governor and County Executive to pay tribute to Civil Rights Hero

On Sunday Feb 24, 2013 at 3:00 pm the St. Louis County NAACP will host it’s annual Rosa Parks State Observance Day celebration. The celebration is being sponsored by Ameren Missouri and will be held at Murchison Tabernacle CME Church, 7629 Natural Bridge Rd. Normandy Mo, 63121.

St. Louis County executive Charlie A. Dooley and Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden are scheduled to serve as guest speakers. In 2004 Missouri State Representative and Branch President Esther Hill Haywood sponsored H.B 1256 Establishing Feb 4 as Rosa Parks day in Missouri Annually. The event is free and open to the public. KMOV Channel Four Anchor Andre Hepkins will serve as Emcee.

Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery Alabama in 1955 sparked the beginning of the American Civil Rights Movement. Parks was the secretary and Youth advisor for the Montgomery Branch of the NAACP.

For information please call the NAACP office at 314-389-1552

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.