Sac NAACP Provides Support In Racial Discrimination Cases

By Sterling Davies | OBSERVER Staff Writer

Nationwide, the NAACP provides support for African Americans who have faced racial discrimination or hate crimes. The organization has multiple surveys and forms that allow people to report cases at school, at work, or in everyday scenarios. However, when cases show a violation of civil rights, the NAACP’s Legal Redress Committee becomes involved to provide guidance and clarity for people during a time that is often full of uncertainty.

The Legal Redress Committee has branches nationwide, including in Sacramento.

While its work has several functions and purposes, it typically consists of referring legal aid and resources to those who submit cases of racial discrimination.

Justin Ward, a Sacramento attorney and committee chairperson, says many Sacramentans can’t afford legal redress on their own. “A lot of times, people don’t have the money to pay for some of these areas of law.B Most attorneys are not doing free consultations,” he says. 

When the NAACP receives a civil rights complaint, the committee steps in to suggest the proper next steps to resolve the incident. This advice can play out many different ways but is mainly either connections to legal resources and organizations, referrals to attorneys who can represent their case, or information on how to properly file a case.

Former committee member Peter Brixie echoes Ward’s thoughts on the local impact. Brixie was on the legal redress committee from 1993 to 2020, and while he left because of differences with the Sacramento NAACP branch, he shared how the committee’s work gives a sense of ease locally.

“A lot of people are intimidated by the legal process, and rightfully so,” Brixie says. “Getting advice as to how to start [a case] is important, and that’s one of the things that they do.”

To expand on its free resources, the committee hosts online legal office hours on the third Saturday of each month. During these consultations, which can be joined after signing up online for the NAACP’s newsletter, volunteer attorneys meet one-on-one to answer questions and give guidance on where or who to turn to next.

While helpful, Brixie notes that often, these meetings lack an adequate number of attorneys to meet the demand. “It’s pretty limited,” he says. “If there are more attorneys with a greater variety of experience, it probably could be more helpful.” 

Because of its shortage of legal manpower Brixie says the committee places greater emphasis on handling situations that affect people’s ability to make a living, such as employment discrimination, the most common civil rights concern in Sacramento. In 2022, Sacramento County reported 561 complaints. The state’s 2022 record of civil rights complaints showed that Sacramento County reported 561 complaints between employment discrimination and employment right-to-sue. These cases made up 88% of the 635 complaints filed in Sacramento.

The Legal Redress Committee board is currently made up of Ward, attorney and Sacramento NAACP branch Vice President Tijuana Barnes, and branch President Ardell Harrison. While the committee doesn’t directly represent cases, it often writes to organizations and companies that people have filed complaints against in hopes of creating a change. The committee also hosts news conferences that address civil rights lawsuits to  bring more attention to a particular case.

A recent example is the committee’s involvement with a case involving an African American woman claiming she had been unlawfully blocked from entering her property in Colfax. Dorothy Buckner has owned her property since 1985 along with an easement to enter Loggers Trail, which is necessary to access the property. However, as of 2016, her neighbors, the Gareth Silyn Roberts Family Trust, have gated Loggers Trail, claiming Buckner abandoned her easement and no longer has access to the trail. Since then, the trust has blocked the trail with tree trunks, piles of brush, and traps to prevent Buckner from accessing it, thus preventing her from entering her property.

In November the committee organized a press conference to discuss the case in detail, with Buckner and her daughter Michelle Buckner speaking on the stress the ordeal has caused to them. Harrison and other committee members also spoke about the incident. The committee also has helped Buckner connect with attorneys who can represent her case.

The ongoing case soon will be taken to Placer County court.

The legal redress committee was also involved in a case in 2023 where a Sacramento-area hospital restricted an admitted patient’s visits from family and friends. The patient believed this was done in retaliation after the patient resisted being transferred to a different facility. After various discussions between the hospital and the committee, the patient was not transferred and the visits were reinstated. 

While the committee’s work helps provide clarity and resolution towards civil rights cases, Ward notes that this also involves letting people know when they might not have a solid case on their hands. “Sometimes, [people] are frustrated because they think they have a great case, but I have to tell them ‘Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like you have a great case,’” Ward says.

The NAACP’s Legal Redress Committee works to be transparent and clear about the legal process, even if that gives people information that might be difficult to hear. With this mission, the committee continues to offer legal information and resources and better help  Sacramento’s African American community.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.