Greetings from
Teresa Haley Springfield Branch President
I am so honored and grateful to have received the first ever NAACP Activist of the Year Award at the 51st Annual NAACP Image Awards. I am also honored to have served my 5th term as your President of the Springfield Branch NAACP. Our theme is “When We Fight Together, We Win: 99 Years in the Making! Thank you, Springfield, for choosing me as your 2019 First Citizen. I am honored to serve and will continue to serve God, my family and my community. We have fought for a lot of improvements in our community. We fought to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour. We also fought for funding regarding the 2020 Census to ensure Black people are completing the 2020 Census, as we cannot afford to not be counted! We will continue to monitor the works of labor unions and procurement to ensure funding for Black businesses through contracts, hiring and funding through ongoing negotiations.
We partnered with the Illinois Chief of Police Associations on “The 10 Principles. In the agreement of the 10 Principles, we value life, work together to build trust in the community, train our citizens to be proactive instead of reactive and we want everyone to go home safe.
We held press conferences and town-hall meetings concerning ramifications associated with the legalization of marijuana. As we know, Marijuana Legalization passed, and we were able to obtain 1.5% of the revenues which will go back to areas that were directly impacted by the War on Drugs.
WHEN WE FIGHT TOGETHER, WE WIN: 99 Years in the Making!
We worked to address housing issues and racial profiling. I worked to increase the number of Youth participation in the NAACP. I testified before the USEPA and the Illinois EPA on the effects that Coal Ash has on poor communities and people of Color, including health concerns from asthma and other breathing ailments to different forms of cancers and birth defects. We have also provided information regarding the Clean Energy Jobs Act. I met with millennials who took to the streets to demand transformative action to address the climate crisis. I worked with members of Congress and US Senate to pass the Springfield Race Riot National Historic Monument Act and National Park Service Legislation
Again, if we are not satisfied with what’s happening at the local, county, state, and federal levels, it is our responsibility to get involved in the election process. The only way to truly effect change is to remain actively involved by attending city council, county board, and school board meetings. As NAACP warriors, please courageously speak up when you see something wrong. Don’t sit on the sidelines and wait for others to dictate to you on how we should run our America!
Under this administration, we will continue to focus on Civil Rights that our parents and grandparents fought for. Please continue to support the NAACP with a membership and financial contributions. And always remember, WHEN WE FIGHT TOGETHER, WE WIN!
Teresa Haley, President