NC NAACP PRESIDENT TO PRESENT OPEN LETTER AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AT 2011 EQUALITY NC FOUNDATION CONFERENCE & GALA

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 11, 2011

For More Information:              Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

Amina Turner, Executive Director, 919-682-4700

Jennifer Marsh, Legal Redress Coordinator, 919-682-4700

For Media Assistance:             Rob Stephens, Office Manager, 336-577-9335  

DURHAM - Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President of the North Carolina NAACP, will present his Open Letter, entitled, "Whether You Agree or Disagree With Same Sex Marriage because of Personal, Religious, or Moral Beliefs, You Should Not Support a Constitutional Amendment Against It" during the keynote panel discussion at the 2011 Equality NC Foundation Conference & Gala. The NC NAACP's Open Letter has created widespread discussion about the possibilities of dynamic new alliances within the anti-racism, anti-poverty movements in North Carolina.

The keynote panel will begin shortly after 4pm, Saturday afternoon, November 12, in Greensboro at the Elliot University Center on the campus of UNC-Greensboro.

"The North Carolina NAACP is honored to participate in the 2011 Equality NC Foundation Conference," says Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II. "The NC NAACP released our Open Letter in opposition to the discriminatory constitutional amendment, which was pushed by the ultra conservative extremists in the NC General Assembly, because our organization has always opposed any custom, tradition, practice, law or constitutional amendment that denies any right to any person."

Dr. Barber continued, "Founded in 1909, the NAACP currently has more than 2,200 membership units across the United States with branches in every state in the nation. Our mission for 102 years has been to achieve equality of rights and eliminate prejudice among the people of the United States.  The NAACP does not and has not taken a position endorsing or opposing same sex marriage. However, the NAACP has a long history of opposing any proposal that would alter the federal or state Constitutions for the purpose of excluding any group or individuals from guarantees of equal protection under the law.  Our opposition is based on our mission statement, which calls for the "equality of rights of all persons."

Rev. Barber will join four other human rights leaders on the keynote panel: Rev. Nancy Petty of Raleigh's Pullen Memorial Baptist Church; Rev. T. Anthony Spearman of Clinton Tabernacle AME Zion Church in Hickory and Chair of the NAACP's Religious Affairs Committee; Pam Spaulding, called "the most important lesbian blogger in America" and granddaughter of the late Asa T. Spaulding, a national leader of civil rights from Durham; and Caitlin Breedlove, a leader of Southerners On a New Ground (S.O.N.G.), an organization with an inclusive human rights and anti-racism agenda guiding its southern organizing work.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization whose mission is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.  For more information, call the State Office at 866-626-2227 or e-mail us at northcarolinanaacp@gmail.com.   

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