Betty Williams, the longtime advocate and influential leader of the Greater Sacramento NAACP, has been suspended by the national civil rights organization on allegations of financial impropriety as the branch’s president.
Word came Friday afternoon in a fiery rebuke of the charges from members of the Sacramento chapter expressing outrage at Williams’ apparent ouster, calling the decision politically motivated just as members gather for this weekend’s NAACP state convention in Burlingame.
In addition to Williams, three present and past branch officers — a treasurer, past treasurer and second vice president — also received suspension letters from the NAACP’s national leadership days before elections were to be held at the state meeting, a former branch vice president told The Sacramento Bee.
“Shame on the national and state office of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People — allegations without an investigation,” a Friday statement in support of Williams read. “Allegations of improper use of funds (are) just that, an allegation that has not been grounded in truth.”
On the day she was suspended, Williams appeared with family members at an NAACP-organized rally for Kaylin Footman, a Sacramento teacher who was arrested during a mental health crisis.
RALLY PLANNED IN SUPPORT OF WILLIAMS
The statement continued, saying that without an investigation, the charges could “ruin” Williams’ reputation and that of the Sacramento branch. Williams, the longest-serving president in the history of the Sacramento NAACP chapter, is long recognized as a statewide champion for civil rights.
She was not immediately available for comment. Williams’ supporters planned a noon rally Saturday outside the Marriott Hotel convention site in the Bay Area city to protest the decision. Aliane Murphy-Hasan, a lifetime member and former vice president of the Sacramento chapter, said state NAACP leaders were concerned with the findings of an annual audit of the local branch, but did not elaborate, deferring to Williams.
Murphy-Hasan said officials at local chapters are typically given advance warning of possible action, and the opportunity to correct or clarify any irregularities in an audit. She said the suspension letter from the national headquarters was the local officials’ only notice.
The suspension letter to Williams from NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson dated Oct. 23 and obtained by The Bee flatly accuses the longtime local leader of using the organization and her position for her own gain. The letter did not specify how Williams allegedly abused her position.
“By engaging in such inappropriate activity and by using the Association’s name and resources for personal benefit, you have engaged in conduct that is inimical to the best interests of the association,” the letter read.
“Action is necessary to prevent or mitigate that harm.” In it, national president Johnson suspended Williams immediately pending an investigation and hearing, saying her membership “presents a danger of harm” to the NAACP and the Sacramento local chapter, barring her from holding any post in the organization. California/Hawaii NAACP State Chapter President Rick Callender, who is also attending the Burlingame convention, told The Bee he had “zero input” in the suspension letter.