Racine NAACP Baby Contest Winner Named

Sanyiah Maxey, the 17-month-old daughter of Claudia Gonzales and Kwame Maxey, was named the Racine Branch 2010 Freedom Baby at a program held Aug. 8 at the Dr. John Bryant Center.
The Racine Branch of the NAACP held its 45th annual Freedom Baby Contest which was in honor of Mrs. Corinne Owens, the chairperson and sponsor of the first Freedom Baby Contest held in 1965.
The winning total turned in by her parents was $1,215. Sanyiah received the Freedom Baby trophy, a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond, a $50 gift certificate from Walmart, clothing items from Attitudes, a recordable picture frame from Hallmark Cards, a baby stroller and other gifts.
All of the runner-ups received a $100 U.S. Savings Bond, a merchant-supplied gift certificate, stroller, clothing items, recordable picture frame and other gifts.

NAACP partnered with CVS to offer flu shots last Saturday

Jacqueline Pinager stands in the cold weather to attract central city residents to take flu shots at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center, Satuday, December 19. The NAACP Racine Branch and CVS/pharmacy have partnered to offer 100 free seasonal flu shots for adults who have yet to be vaccinated this flu season.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths result each year from seasonal flu with 90% of deaths occurring in those over the age of 65. Getting a flu shot can reduce the chance of getting the flu by up to 70%. CVS/pharmacy and the NAACP recommend getting a flu shot to stay protected during flu season which can last through March.

A member of CVS pharmacy gives a flu shot to - Shelley Lacey

CVS pharmacists administered the flu vaccine for patients 18 years of age and older and were available to answer patients' questions about seasonal flu, treatment and prevention, influenza warning signs, and the availability of antiviral medication and over the counter products to relieve symptoms.

NECKBONEOLGY: Should the NAACP stay out of it?

by Kenneth Lumpin, Publisher

Lt. Gov. Barb Lawton announced this week that she is dropping out of the governor's race for "very personal reasons," leaving the Democrats without a major candidate for the office just more than a year away from the election.

"My deep commitment to our state is second only to my commitment to my family," Lawton wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "For very personal reasons, I will not pursue the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010."

What impact will this have on the Racine branch of the NAACP's efforts to have local influence in the Governor's race, held next November?

In an unusual break from staying out of politics, the local branch President Alderman Michael Shields, invited Lawton's campaign to be their keynote speaker at the civil rights organization's 59^th Freedom Fund dinner held recently at the Racine’s Marriott Hotel.

Will the branch now get behind Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who now remains as the only major Democrat considering getting into the race to replace Gov. Jim Doyle, who opted against seeking a third term.

Some members behind closed doors feel that getting involved in the governors’ race could violate the nonprofit, nonpartisan civil rights organization’s rules by having a partisan political candidate as their guestspeaker, and suggest that leaders draw back from dragging the organization into political races.

The third vice president of the North Carolina State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Michael Leach, is being accused of violating the organization’s rules by appearing in a partisan political television ad without disclaiming his membership.

In a Feb. 29 letter to Leach from Curmilus Dancy II, second vice president of the Rocky Mount NAACP and publicity director for the State Conference, Dancy tells Leach that “some inside the NAACP” who have called him were “concerned” that Leach’s appearance in the political ad, given his positions in the NC NAACP, “may be unethical.”

He wrote, “These folks are concerned that this advertisement…will put the NAACP members under scrutiny.”

He added that Leach’s political ad appearance also put “a damper” on a recent NC NAACP-sponsored gubernatorial debate in Durham.

In Racine, could Lawton's invite in some way damage the efforts to active registered voters and encourage them to vote in Wisconsin gubernatorial race.

The organization should be sensitive to the matter, especially given the run-in it had in 2004 with the Internal Revenue Service, which launched a probe after NAACP Board Chairman Julian Bond made a speech one month before the presidential elections, highly critical of incumbent Republican President George W. Bush.

Bond denied the charge, saying that the NAACP has historically criticized both Republicans and Democrats in power without ever taking sides in an election.

In ending it, from my prospective, I feel that the Racine Branch of the NAACP should do the same, end all involvements in political races. After all, there are enough local issues to dig into.

Is the City Out to Close Down Black Bars?

What happens when the City of Racine rushes to close down Black entertainment facilities to make more liquor licenses available to other establishments? In Racine, the African American community has moved to new core entertainment spots outside the inner city and into unwelcoming areas of town.

Most notable is Park 6, located on the corner of the Sixth Street and Park Avenue area, where large groups of young African American partygoers are attracted on the weekend.

Early on the club drew a very diverse audience of primarily Whites. To my amazement, the club now caters to a mostly African-American clientele. A mix that has other merchants in the near-by area upset.

In a recent meeting of the Public Safety and Licensing Committee, Alderman Jim Kaplan took a minute out of the meeting to give some business advice to the operator of Park 6 club on Sixth Street.

"Stop advertising," he told Thomas Holmes, who was called before the committee for complaints about his club. "It's having a negative impact on your business." Is Kaplan saying that the minority who frequent Park 6 is a negative impact to Mr Holmes or the downtown area?

Committee members seem to suggest to Holmes his club was too successful and he may want to consider moving out of its building at Sixth Street and Park Avenue. The club is drawing large crowds late on Friday and Saturday nights.

"It seems like you're a victim of your own success," said Alderman Aron Wisneski, chairman of the committee.

Holmes said a change in the bar's crowd over the last four months has increased the security challenges. The first six months his place was open it had a predominantly white crowd. But in recent months the crowd became predominantly African-American, Holmes said. He attributed the change to other bars closing and their patrons looking for a new place to hangout.

Wisneski also asked Holmes about food served in the bar. The original agreement with the city called for a restaurant, but Park 6 doesn't serve food.

Now according to a source, efforts are being developed by the City to close him down because he has not yet opened a full kitchen.

Holmes told the committee in July that the original person he was working with to start the restaurant left. He now has a new partner and has installed all of the necessary kitchen equipment, and should be up and running by next Friday.

Alderman Mike Shields, who is also the head of the local branch of the NAACP, and members of the African American Tavern Group accused the City Council's Public Safety and Licensing Committee of treating minority-owned bars unfairly.

"The way they drill people of color is a problem with me," Shields said in the hallway during the committee meeting.

The Tavern Group says that black owners are asked to spend enormous amounts of money for security officers, mounted cameras, as well as closing early which causes a loss in income. “They are essentially micro managing us out of business,” said one owner.

Cash Money Bar, located on the corner of 9th and Memorial Drive said that he was forced out of business by the committee requirements. He would have had to install a security camera system, and close early. Both suggestions were too costly and he was forced to return his Class “B” Liquor Licensing.

Nevertheless, members of the tavern group say that white clubs in Racine have had some of the same problems, but have not been subject to the same requirements. “There have been several shootings at White taverns up and down Main Street, but none have had to put in security systems in order to keep their doors open,” said one group member.

Local African-American club owners want answers, and rightfully so. They feel that the committee should take the politics out of the granting of licensing and judge each business according to their operations.

It has only been in recent years that city aldermen have flexed their political muscles by going after minority owned establishments. An example is how the Public Safety and Licensing Committee arbitrarily require certain taverns to have conditions in order to operate, while not applying these requirements across the board.

One local owner, who does not want to identified his business, said that in the committee demands for 18 months that his lounge have unform police officers, close early and maintain his $10,000 security system. He believes the demands cost him over $150,000 in lost revenue.

Some owners have said that the actions of the committee boarder on a form of extortion of Black bars. “Their actions are loaded with gimmicks to close us down. You can note that 80% of African American bars have been closed since the late 1980’s.

What do you think?

Local NAACP wants Becker Ousted

The local branch of the NAACP has called for Mayor Gary Becker to resign in the aftermath of his child porn arrest.

According to the RacinePost posting, “A day of furious activity relating to Mayor Gary Becker culminated at 4:30 p.m. when Police Chief Kurt Wahlen -- kinda, sorta acting merely as a resident of Racine rather than as Police Chief -- formally asked the City Council to remove Becker from office.

The NAACP news release which was not signed said, “In light of the present situation surrounding the office of the Mayor of Racine it is the position of the Racine Branch NAACP that it is in the best interest of the City of Racine that Mayor Gary Becker resigns his position immediately.”

The release hinted that the organization feels that there are more facts to be uncovered relating to the city's worse political scandal ever. “Although it is our belief that there is much more to be uncovered as it relates to this situation, at this time in order to promote healing and reconciliation of the City, the best course of action at this time is for the Mayor’s resignation to be immediately forthcoming without further delay,’” said the release.

The release ended by saying, “Equally, the Racine Branch NAACP calls upon the City Council to move with all due diligence to schedule an election so all the citizens voices can be heard.”