By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
Greater Sacramento NAACP President Betty Williams and five other members of the organization were suspended last week for alleged financial misappropriations, according to NAACP documents obtained by The OBSERVER.
“You are directed to cease and desist immediately from holding yourself out as a member of the NAACP. You are hereby ineligible to hold any position within the NAACP,” stated the suspension letter authored by NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.
The other suspended members are Dafna Gauthier, Lorraine Moore, Ken Nelson, Salena Pryor and Velma Sykes.
Sykes, the only member The OBSERVER reached who would comment, said the allegations are “absolutely untrue.”
“I feel that it’s a political ploy to keep Betty Williams from winning the presidency of the [California Hawaii] NAACP,” Sykes said.
Williams has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
It is uncertain whether there is an acting Sacramento branch president. Ardell La’Mond Harrison, its first vice president and now the highest ranking member following the suspensions, would not confirm whether he was filling that role.
In a statement, Aliane Murphy-Hasan, former Sacramento branch vice president, said an allegation of improper use of funds is just that.
“Allegations with no investigation could ruin the reputation of not only Ms. Williams but the branch as well,” Murphy-Hasan said in the statement. She claimed the allegations were filed and made public before giving Williams and the others a chance to address them.
Williams had planned to challenge California Hawaii NAACP President Rick Callender on Oct. 28 at the NAACP CA/HI State Conference 36th Annual Convention where elections for the office were held. Murphy-Hasan and Sykes questioned if Williams’ decision to run is why she was suspended.
Callender declined comment and referred The OBSERVER to Trevon Willams, a spokesman for the national NAACP. He also has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
The Sacramento branch NAACP’s annual financial report showed Williams and the other suspended members may have engaged in financial impropriety benefitting their businesses, according to the suspension letter. Acts of financial impropriety would violate the organization’s bylaws, which allow for the accused to request a hearing to respond to any allegations, after which the NAACP “may order suspension, expulsion or other disciplinary action against such officer or member.”
Johnson wrote that by allegedly engaging in inappropriate activity and by using the association’s name and resources for personal benefit, Williams and the other members have engaged in conduct against the best interests of the NAACP.
“I am satisfied that your continued membership in the association presents a danger of harm to the NAACP and the Sacramento branch NAACP,” Johnson wrote. “Action is necessary to prevent or mitigate that harm.”
OBSERVER staff writer Srishti Prabha contributed to this report