The Club was honored to have as our guest speaker this past Friday, March 26th, Dr. Janice Greene, President, Snohomish County NAACP. Dr. Greene was introduced by Lance Morehouse who gave a brief background of her career currently as the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Economic Development & Business Intelligence Strategic Leader and the President of the Snohomish County Chapter of the NAACP. Dr. Greene has been the President of the organization since 2005.
Dr. Greene gave a brief history of the NAACP which started in 1909 talking about the reasons why the civil rights organization evolved when black and white people came together regarding the lynching of some young black men. Unfortunately, there are very good reasons for the continued work of the NAACP when issues arise around the nation, state and county. Dr. Green cited a recent Marysville exchange during an Associated Student Body Junior Leadership breakout period caught on ZOOM which wasn’t addressed properly at the time.
Discrimination in the workplace continues and the Snohomish County NAACP has worked with Providence Hospital and other organizations on economic development and literacy while using a grant of $22,500 to provide gift cards for food where needed in the community. As people in the community struggle, the organization is putting together classes on financial literacy. The organization's goal is to “stand in for people who need a voice” commented Dr. Greene. The NAACP is supporting and involved in efforts to bring awareness to the current violence against the Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
Dr. Greene commented that the NAACP has lots of rules. They must apply to the National Organization Office for rallies which requires filing for insurance. Dr. Greene acknowledged that the NAACP is very bureaucratic. Structured through State Area Conferences with 14 local branches with some in larger cities. A question regarding what was available for teachers, Dr. Greene replied that the NAACP has an education person who is involved with teachers. Many questions of Dr. Greene followed her presentation and was very enlightening for all of our members.
At Rotary, we have no tolerance for racism. Promoting respect, celebrating diversity, demanding ethical leadership, and working tirelessly to advance peace are central tenets of our work.
We have more work to do to create more just, open and welcoming communities for all people.
We know there are no easy fixes and that challenging conversations and work lie before all of us. Rotary’s strength has long been our ability and commitment to bringing people together. We will tap into that strength now as we stand with those who are working for peace and justice.
Rotary will do our part to listen, learn and take action to ensure that we continue to contribute to making positive changes.