West Virginia NAACP Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Anitra Hamilton Appointed To House Of Delegates

In a Wednesday administration media briefing, Gov. Jim Justice announced he was appointing Anitra Hamilton to represent the 81st District in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

Hamilton was among a list of three candidates submitted by the Monongalia County Democratic Party to Justice for his appointment to the remainder of Danielle Walker’s two-year term, which began this January.

Hamilton is president of the Morgantown/Kingwood Branch of the NAACP of West Virginia and vice-chair of the West Virginia University Council for Gender Equity.

Earlier this month, Walker, the only Black woman in the West Virginia Legislature, stepped down as delegate for the 81st House District to become the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia. She also stepped down from her position as the vice chair of the state Democratic Party.

Anitra Hamilton now becomes the only Black woman in the West Virginia Legislature.

The 81st district encompasses a portion of Morgantown, including the neighborhoods next to West Virginia University.

Anitra Hamilton is the new 81st District Delegate. *Courtesy Photo*

Community Solar Supporters Nudge Lawmakers, But No Hearing Yet

Supporters of House Bill 2159 say it could save ratepayers potentially hundreds of dollars a year. House

Groups came to the Capitol on Tuesday to push for community solar legislation. It hasn’t gotten very far.

Solar United Neighbors, the West Virginia Environmental Council and the NAACP of West Virginia spoke in favor of community solar.

It enables individuals and organizations to share solar power without installing it on their rooftops. They receive a monthly credit on their electric bills for the share they purchased. Twenty-two states already have it.

Supporters say it could save ratepayers potentially hundreds of dollars a year. House Bill 2159 would make community solar possible in West Virginia.

The bill is sponsored by Del. Evan Hansen, a Monongalia County Democrat. However, the bill was introduced in January and has yet to receive a hearing in the Energy and Manufacturing Committee.

A similar bill came before lawmakers last year but did not achieve passage.

Supporters Work To Reframe The King Day Narrative Around Healing

When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech during the March on Washington in August 1963, he had no way of knowing the narrative and legacy the speech would leave behind.

Rev. Ronald English, former Pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston, said he aims to clarify the “King Narrative,” as the country celebrates the civil rights hero on January 16 this year. He wants to use that legacy for healing.

“The dream King narrative has been used for several different kinds of causes that were contrary to what Dr. King’s message was, his mission was, and his ministry was about,” English said. “That has only increased, particularly in the last two or three years, where the dream King has been used and misused and abused, I feel, for other causes and issues.”

English was ordained into the ministry by Drs. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sr. at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. English shared that King had a different ending in mind for the speech that would go on to define his legacy, but gospel singer Mahalia Jackson advised him to, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.”

English and other organizers aim to refocus the “King narrative” on the power of healing.

“Making that shift to the healing King was consistent with some of the things that I’ve been

involved in, as far as dealing with the health disparities that have impacted the African

American community since we got here in 1690 on slave ships,” English said. “The partnership of African American churches has been involved over the past year or so with giving vaccinations to deal with the COVID crisis.”

English, alongside the NAACP and the partnership of African American Churches, hopes to use the context of MLK Day celebrations as an instrument to provide tools and resources to the Black community, by focusing on different aspects of King’s message.

“We’re focusing on health disparities, and the responsibility that is ours to move that, and with momentum is where we are right now. At the time of his death, as far as identifying what he called the three evils of American society being racism, economic injustice, and militarism,” Rev. English said. “And so the economic injustice and racism kind of overlap when you look at what have been the causes of health disparities among African Americans, again, from the time we got here.”

The partnership of African American churches has provided vaccination clinics since December 2021.

“It also is an informative way of getting folks to the clinics and then, impacting information in the communities where those clinics are set up, and this is all over the state, so we’ve been able to move into parts of the state where the health disparities among African Americans has been really crucial,” English said. “In the process of doing the vaccination with local organizations, the NAACP branches and other organizations that would share a common goal, I believe in relieving the health disparities in the African American community, sharing a common voice that would help get that message around.”

As part of this endeavor, The Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs (HHOMA) will host a Commemoration and Celebration of King with an Ecumenical Service, march and bell-ringing at the West Virginia Culture Center at 9:30 a.m., Monday, Jan. 16.

The symbolic march and Ecumenical Service is open to the public and free of charge.

“We are honored to celebrate the life of Dr. King,” said HHOMA Executive Director and Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission Chair, Jill Upson. “His achievements and dedication to strengthening communities with peace and solidarity for mankind empower us all to be great.”

NAACP And Partners Respond To Governor’s Flat Budget Proposal

The morning after his seventh State of the State address, advocacy groups gathered at the capitol to voice concerns about Gov. Jim Justice’s proposed flat budget.

The West Virginia Education Association partnered with the Charleston chapter of the NAACP and several other West Virginia-based advocacy groups to hold a press conference Thursday morning. Speakers discussed their concerns about the repercussions a flat budget could cause for West Virginians, particularly children, working families and communities of color.

“So our message today is that our children are counting on lawmakers and the governor to set forth a path that helps children thrive and helps families thrive,” said Jim McKay, state coordinator of Prevent Child Abuse West Virginia. “And unfortunately, we’ve seen that despite how many families in every corner of the state who are struggling, lawmakers are not proposing programs to help meet their needs.”

McKay noted the expense of child care as a contributing factor to the struggle of many in the state.

“What we didn’t hear was anything (in the budget) about children after they’re born until they enter school,” McKay said. “And so for our organization, we really want to prioritize the needs of young children, help value moms and dads and by doing that, then children are going to have their best chance of success in school and in life.”

Darryl Clausell is the President of the NAACP of Charleston. He urged legislators to prioritize the needs of West Virginians when passing the budget.

“One, we have to quit playing cookie cutter politics, or party politics. Get to the real issues that affect West Virginians, you know, not legislation to follow a stream of what other states are doing, but it doesn’t really benefit us in West Virginia,” Clausell said. “Let’s not rob Peter to pay Paul, to eliminate one segment of our state income means we’re going to have to have trade offs and make it somewhere else.”

Clausell, McKay and other advocates asked for transparency in budget-making from lawmakers this session, in order to build a budget that works for all West Virginians.

LGBTQ Rights Advocates Respond To Huntington Delegate’s Comments, Continue Push For Fairness Act

Advocates for equal rights for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities are continuing their push to end discrimination.

The renewed effort to pass The Fairness Act — a perennial legislative proposal that would outlaw discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual preference and gender identity — comes on the heels of the latest comments on the issue from Del. John Mandt, R-Cabell, as the legislative session approaches.

In a Facebook post published last week, Mandt outlined his opposition to the Fairness Act.

“Oftentimes evil cloaks itself in pleasant sounding terms, and that is exactly what the Fairness Act does. There is nothing fair about it,” Mandt wrote on Feb. 4. “It falsely claims to be a civil rights bill about fairness in employment and housing. But instead it’s nothing more than a wrongful appropriation of the civil rights movement to force a behavioral pattern into a legally protected class.”

Mandt’s comments followed Del. Josh Higginbotham, R-Putnam, announcing that he would introduce the Fairness Act this legislative session. But Mandt’s recent remarks on issues of gay rights aren’t the first time he’s drawn controversy.

Mandt resigned from his seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates in October 2020 after screenshots surfaced showing him using homophobic slurs. But he later reclaimed his seat following the November general election after saying he would once again serve if re-elected.

Fairness West Virginia, along with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a pair of Democratic state lawmakers and others from the Huntington community, held a news conference Tuesday to respond to Mandt’s comments made on social media.

“We are not asking for special treatment. We are just asking to be treated like every other West Virginian,” said Ally Layman, president of Huntington Pride, about the Fairness Act. “We’d like to be free from possible harassment or fear of folks turning down our business, and not welcoming us and our families.

Del. Cody Thompson, D-Randolph, is the only openly gay state lawmaker currently serving. During Tuesday’s news conference, Thompson made mention of other Republican lawmakers who had made anti-gay comments in recent sessions.

“I’m personally sick of it. I’m absolutely sick of working with people who do not value me as a person. You don’t have to like me. You don’t have to agree with my politics. But I respect you as a person, [so] you respect me and all other West Virginians of the LGBTQ community and respect them. I very much condemn the words of Delegate Mandt,” Thompson said.

Other speakers at Tuesday’s news conference spoke out about Mandt taking issue with renewed efforts to pass the Fairness Act coinciding with Black History Month.

“I found it quite appalling that — to use Black History Month and the civil rights movement as a means to divide the people of West Virginia — is just incredible and unbelievable,” said Katonya Hart of the NAACP West Virginia.

Del. Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia — who is Black and identifies as queer — is also speaking out against Mandt’s comments.

“Our similarities make us human and our differences make us people,” Walker said. “Fairness is an impartial and just treatment — a behavior without favoritism or discrimination. So let’s highlight the discrimination, the prejudice, the hate and racism. The statement from my colleague included all of the above.”

With the West Virginia Legislature kicking off its 2021 regular session at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 10, the fate of the Fairness Act remains unknown.

Fairness West Virginia says some version of a non-discrimination bill has been introduced at the the West Virgina Capitol every year for at least 20 years. In more recent legislative sessions, Democrats have tried unsuccessfully to move the bill from committee and to the floor for a vote.

While Gov. Jim Justice expressed support for the measure in a debate during his 2020 re-election campaign, Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkely, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, have not publicly commented on the issue.

According to the Human Rights Campaign’s 2020 State Equality Index, West Virginia is among 25 states rated at the lowest ranking and designated as a “high priority to achieve basic equality.”

Citizen's Police Review Board Requested for W.Va. City

Members of the West Virginia NAACP have requested the creation of a citizens’ police review board for one of the state’s largest cities.

News outlets report West Virginia NAACP President Owens Brown and the Wheeling NAACP proposed the creation of an independent board to analyze the Wheeling Police Department at Tuesday’s city council meeting. The board would be made up of local citizens from different religious and fraternal organizations.

Browns says he’s heard from community members who feel that police are stopping and harassing them, and that there’s no check on the department’s authority.

Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger says he created an office of professional standards within the department to investigate complaints.

Mayor Glenn Elliott says he’d speak to council members and city administrators to determine a response.