National NAACP office threatens ATL pres Richard Rose w/suspension; calls comments, “Unacceptable”

Monday morning, the nationalist bureau of the NAACP issued a cease-and-desist missive to the president of the Atlanta Branch, Richard Rose, for the comments helium made October 20th regarding Kasim Reed’s candidacy for Mayor of Atlanta.

Rose’s connection included a “rare repudiation” of Kasim Reed’s run of making mendacious statements concerning affordable housing, not afloat supporting Historically Black Colleges successful their quest for just onshore deals and failing to region Confederate monuments.

Rose penned his missive connected the Atlanta NAACP letterhead. It work successful part, “As a nonpartisan agency, the NAACP typically refrains from endorsing a governmental enactment oregon speaking retired astir a circumstantial candidate. Today, I americium breaking that tacit protocol. To bash thing little would beryllium an abdication of my ngo to assistance determination Atlanta forward, not backward.”

“Atlanta tin and indispensable bash amended than elite Kasim Reed again. Thirteen different candidates are running, immoderate with proven enactment quality and governmental acquisition and not with a grounds of administrative corruption.”

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson has called Rose’s actions “unacceptable.”

The missive quoted their bylaws which forbids bureau holders from endorsing candidates for nationalist office:

“Article II, Section 2(d) of the Bylaws for Units of the NAACP states that “[a]ll governmental enactment shall beryllium non-partisan and shall not endorse candidates for nationalist office.” Furthermore, Article VIII, Section 5(p) of the Bylaws for Units of the NAACP states the governmental enactment committee “shall beryllium nonpartisan and shall not endorse candidates for nationalist office.” 

Reed, who is simply a beingness member, responded to the NAACP missive successful part:

I americium grateful for the NAACP’s swift effect to Mr. Rose’s governmental statement. As a beingness subordinate of the NAACP, I americium committed to the ngo and enactment of this way breaking organization. The allegations contained successful Mr. Rose’s missive were mendacious and wholly without merit. Our run is being attacked due to the fact that we sought and received the enactment of the women and men of the Atlanta Police Department astatine a clip erstwhile transgression and unit is devastating our city. We stay honored to person the enactment of The International Brotherhood of Police Officers (IBPO) Local 623 and are committed to making Atlanta harmless successful a mode that is accordant with our values arsenic the cradle of the Civil Rights movement.

—  Former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed

Reed took to the podium to code the letter, his endorsements and Richard Rose.

“I’ll instrumentality the endorsement of Ambassador Andrew Young, who was enarthrosis to enarthrosis with Dr. Martin Luther King and during each of the captious days of his life, up against the NAACP,” Reed said. “After the endorsement of Maynard Jackson the 3rd grade, whose begetter was the lone idiosyncratic ever determination 3 times up against that endorsement.

I’ll enactment the endorsement of Kwame Abernathy, whose begetter Ralph Abernathy was Dr. King’s close hand, up against the endorsement of the section NAACP. I’ll enactment the endorsement of the firefighters Union. And what’s astonishing is you each springiness that deed piece, and you cognize it was a deed piece, each of the recognition successful the world.”

Reed touted the information helium received the endorsements from The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 134, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Georgia Local 1644, the Georgia Federation of Public Service Employees (FPSE), the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 8 Southeast, and the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys.

With aboriginal voting underway and 7 days remaining until Election Day, Reed has called retired the attacks against him by his opponents, existent Atlanta City Council President, Felicia Moore, and Atlanta City Councilman Andre Dickens.

“And let’s beryllium clear, Andre Dickens has fixed up,” Reed said. “So everything that helium does for the adjacent 8 days isn’t for Andre Dickens,  helium doesn’t person a accidental to triumph successful this election. He is done. Everything helium does is for Felicia Moore, who he’s going to endorse connected November 3. They’re each going to person the nonstop aforesaid property league that they had erstwhile they tried to decision Mayor Bottoms. Amnesia is much communal than you each think.”