The Prince William Unit of the NAACP is hosting a Candidate Roundtable on Wednesday, October 26th, at 7:00pm at First AME Church 10313 South Grant Ave. Manassas, VA 20110.
There are many issues facing the African American community: criminal justice reform, economic sustainability, voter suppression and many more. Where do the candidates stand? Come to the PW NAACP Candidate Roundtable and find out. The Roundtable will focus on identifying the economic challenges and opportunities of the African American community in the County, Manassas City and Manassas Park. Economic Sustainability is listed as the first item in the NAACP 21st Century Game Changers which can be viewed by clicking here. We are inviting all Candidates representing our area: Congressional District Candidates from the 1st ,10th and 11th; and local candidates in Manassas City and Manassas Park.
Feel free to submit any questions you may have for the Candidates. You may do this by visiting our Facebook event and accessing the survey questionnaire referenced there, or go directly to the survey by clicking here.
Thank you for your assistance in promoting this roundtable and sending it to your contacts. We look forward to seeing you there.
Please pass this information to all organizations that you are involved in and your friends and family.
The PW NAACP unit will hold its bi-annual election on November 15th. In addition to the traditional process of receiving nominations for officers and at-large Executive Committee members, we have developed this tools to make it easier for our members to submit nominations. If you desire to be nominated for an office or as at-large member of the Executive Committee, then please provide the following link to those whom you would like to nominate you: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PD8NFGW. The nomination process via this survey closes on October 17th so that the unit secretary can validate all nominations.
A member of the unit must have been a member in good standing on April 1st in order to be nominated as an officer or at-large member of the Executive Committee. You must be a member in good standing as of September 17th to nominate someone. You must be a member in good standing as of October 16th to vote in the unit elections on November 15th.
Who leads the local NAACP is important. Not just the president, but the vice presidents, the secretary, the treasurer, and the members of the Executive Committee. The leadership sets the unit agenda and engages partner organizations so that the PW NAACP can more effectively accomplish its mission. It would be great if more of our members with vast leadership experience would consider joining the leadership team of the PW NAACP to help us move forward.
The Prince William NAACP Education Committee is committed to ensure that every disadvantaged student and student of color graduates ready for college or a career by ensuring access to great teaching, fair discipline, equitable resources and challenging curriculum.
After careful examination of the Prince William County Public School (PWCS) 2014-15 School Profile data, the Prince William NAACP Education Committee targeted six (6) schools in eastern Prince William County located on the route 1 corridor. The schools targeted were schools accredited with warning. These schools include:
Belmont Elementary Fred Lynn Middle Freedom High
Dumfries Elementary Rippon Middle
Potomac High (Although Potomac was listed as Accredited with Warning on the online School Profile Data Sheet, we found out at the principal’s meeting that Potomac HS had gained their accreditation for 2014-15)
The purpose of the meetings was to meet with the principal and other administrative staff to identify the strategies that were in place to strengthen family and community engagement and to offer support to enhance and develop the following strategies:
Increase attendance at local school meetings (Advisory Council, PTSO, etc.).
Provide support and advocacy for parents and guardians of minority students with Teachers and Principals.
Increase enrollment for minority students in gifted programs, Honors/AP courses, specialty programs (IB, Cambridge, Environmental Sciences, etc.), and decrease participation in Special Education classes.
Facilitate visible participation and support and provide feedback to PWCS on issues that impact the delivery of high quality education to the minority student population.
The 2016 Virginia State Conference NAACP will hold it’s 81st Annual Convention at the Westin Hotel, 400 Courthouse Square in Alexandria Virginia on October 28 – 30, 2016. Click here for a flyer containing the details on this event and here for a Letter from the Virginia State Conference President Linda Thomas urging participation.
Please join us for our 2nd Annual Open House meeting on the 16th of August from 7:30-9:00 at First AME of Manassas. This meeting is an opportunity for you to meet other PW NAACP members and to receive an overview of the unit activities and plans for the rest of the year. To encourage attendance, we are having a members’ raffle, with a $200 prize. To be eligible for the prize you must be present, and your dues must be current. The raffle drawing will be conducted at the end of the meeting; so if you renew or join during the meeting, you will be eligible. Please share this flyer with friends and family in the area and encourage their participation. Also visit our Open House Event Page on facebook and invite friends and neighbors.
The PWC NAACP is aware of the challenges we face in the pursuit of equality, and we are working on positive solutions to address problems. We need you to be part of the solution. Get Connected, Get Informed, Get Involved:
· Did you know that African American businesses only generate 1.2% of the revenue in PWC? Come and hear our plans to do something about that.
· Did you know that Virginia has the highest suspension and expulsion rate for African American students? Come and find out what the Education Committee is doing to address this trend.
· Do you support the use of body worn cameras by local law enforcement? Come and see how you can help advocate for body worn cameras in Manassas, Manassas Park, or Prince William County.
· Are you concerned about the disproportionate rate African Americans have lost their voting rights because of felony convictions? Join our team to help returning citizens get their rights restored.
These are the types of issues we discuss at our General Membership meetings and the type of work our committees undertake to address inequality in the Prince William area.
We look forward to seeing you next Tuesday, the 16th of August.
The League of Women Voters, a non-partisan organization, is holding a forum on August 24th from 7- 9 PM at the Central Community Library located at 8601 Mathis Avenue in Manassas. The topic of the forum is “Schools and Discipline: A Discussion on Stopping the School to Prison Pipeline.” As this is an extremely important issue to the African American community, we hope you will attend the discussion. Click here for a flyer containing additional information.
Unit Member Florence Stewart is coordinating the Voter Registration effort for the PW NAACP. A number of volunteers are needed if we are to be successful in reaching out to the community to contact and help register unregistered voters. Florence has developed a form to recruit volunteers to assist with a number of activities. Click here to access a form to use in volunteering to help with this important effort. Please review the form and complete it by identifying areas in which you are willing to assist. Upon completion, please e-mail the form to PoliticalAction@pwnaacp.org.
The Ebenezer Baptist Church is sponsoring a Health Fair and Blood Drive on Saturday, 16 July 2016 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The address is 13020 Telegraph Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22192 (corner of Telegraph and Minnieville Roads). Phone number is (703) 494-2669. The purpose of the Health Fair is to promote a healthier lifestyle for people in our community. There will be a blood pressure screening station, information on health related issues and much much more. Please consider stopping by this worthwhile community event. Admission is FREE. The flyer describing the Health Fare can be accessed here. The Blood Drive flyer can be accessed here.
We are also looking for members to represent the PWCNAACP at our information table during the event. If you can spare an hour on Saturday, 16 July 2016 between the hours of 9:00 AM-1:00 PM, please contact Karl Brower at president@pwnaacp.org, with your availability. Setup will begin at 8:00 AM. Karl will be there from 9:00-11:00. Thank you for your consideration.
Don’t forget to vote on November 8. Voting is an important civic duty.
The Prince William Unit of the NAACP is hosting a Candidate Roundtable on Wednesday, October 26th, at 7:00pm at First AME Church 10313 South Grant Ave. Manassas, VA 20110.
Unit Member Florence Stewart is coordinating the Voter Registration effort for the PW NAACP. A number of volunteers are needed if we are to be successful in reaching out to the community to contact and help register unregistered voters. Florence has developed a form to recruit volunteers to assist with a number of activities. Click here to access a form to use in volunteering to help with this important effort. Please review the form and complete it by identifying areas in which you are willing to assist. Upon completion, please e-mail the form to PoliticalAction@pwnaacp.org.
