Also, on June 17th we would love to see as many of our members at the awards luncheon. There are a few of us from the executive committee that will be there and we would love to have as many of our NAACP members with us at our table. as we can For details you can call 862-3586. You will want to RSVP by June 11th and arrange payment for the luncheon at $20 per person. I am not sure how they are reserving the seating, but you will want to let them know you are there for Wes and Francine Pratt and perhaps mention the NAACP “table”. I am hoping we can all sit together!

Please join me in congratulating both Wes and Francine for their nominations. Though the nomination is well deserved and an honor, winning the award sure would mean a well deserved “icing on the cake” for two individuals who are exemplary in what they continue to do in their “free time” for our NAACP chapters, our members, for those the NAACP advocates for, and for many others in our community.

Proud to be an NAACP member!

Robert King
1st VP NAACP Springfield Chapter
Health Standing Committee, Chair

The Springfield chapter of the NAACP will host the annual Freedom Fund Ball Saturday, May 15, 2010 in the Plaster Student Union ballroom.

The Drum Major Award, Community Service Award, Citizenship Award and Service to Youth Award will be presented.

Tickets for the ball are available at $30 for NAACP members and $40 for non-members. A reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30.

Musical entertainment will be provided after the program and award ceremony.

The mission of the NAACP is “to ensure the political, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and discrimination … and that people of all races, nationalities, and faiths are united on the premise that all men and women are created equal.”

To sponsor or advertise in the program booklet please download the attached forms.

For more information on the NAACP, visit www.naacpspringfieldmo.org or call 873-6386.

To advertise on the program to be handed out please download Freedom Fund Ball Advertisement Form

COLUMBIA —The Missouri State Conference NAACP on August 11, 2009 made a formal request to Vice President Biden to have the Stimulus Oversight Board hold hearings into MoDOT’s stimulus spending; the response, an OIG investigation.

President Mary Ratliff said “I’m confident that the Office of the Inspector General will conduct a thorough investigation with respect to the NAACP’s concerns with MoDOT’s stimulus spending.”

The NAACP raised a number of concerns:

• MoDOT awarded $198 Million in stimulus funded contracts in which 1% went to minority business enterprises (MBE), yet 8% was awarded to women business enterprises.

• MoDOT awarded 76 subcontracts to women business enterprises (WBE); 56% or roughly 43 subcontracts went to two WBE(s); one in Macon Mo. got 33% of all the WBE business, and the other out of Farmington, Mo. walked away with 23% of all the WBE subcontracts.

• MoDOT approved 183 subcontracts of which 16 went to minority businessenterprises (MBEs) for a total of $2.7 million of the $198 million awarded in stimulus funded projects.

• MoDOT did not follow federal guidelines put in place for stimulus funding; theguidelines required federal funded recipients to “make vigorous efforts” to maximizethe involvement of DBE firms. Recipients were encouraged to take steps to mobilizeunderutilized DBE capacity and to:

i. Reach out to firms that may potentially be eligible for DBE certification,but are not yet part of the program, urging them to apply.

ii. Expedite the processing of applications for certification.

iii. In many cases, there are substantial numbers of certified firms that are
seldom used on contracts. This can be an additional source of DBE
capacity. Recipients were to make vigorous efforts to work with such
firms and prime contractors to take advantage of this resource.

iv. Along with prime contractors, be as inclusive as possible in utilizing all
available DBE firms, not ruling certified firms out based on
preconceptions about their competence to do a particular job.

• $15 Million in stimulus funded construction contracts required “No” DBE (disadvantagedbusiness enterprise) participation at all.

• One of the firms which has been consistently fined for failure to meet participation goalswas awarded an $8 Million stimulus fund contract which required “No Participation”(APAC-Mo); and $28 Million in stimulus funded contracts overall.

• MoDOT revised its funding plan for the $1.5 billion Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Grants application to help pay for transportation cost associated with Paul McKee’s proposed Northside development in St. Louis.

• Of $198 Million in contracts awarded by MoDOT, over $161 Million in stimulus funded contracts went to members of AGC-Missouri (association of general contractors), an organization that has consistently opposed disadvantaged business programs and efforts.

According to OIG; “It is our policy not to provide updates during an open inquiry. Whenour inquiry is completed we will notify you in writing of our results. Thank you forbringing this matter to our attention.”
The Office of Inspector General has prepared a plan identifying the key oversightactivities they will undertake to carry out their responsibilities under the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act).

“Most IGs, including myself, generally spend considerable time detecting fraud or wasteand then examining such fraudulent or wasteful activities through either a traditionalaudit or criminal investigation,” Devaney said in a March 19, 2009 GovernmentExecutive.Com article; Earl Devaney is chairman of the Recovery Act Accountabilityand Transparency Board

Most people are ready to call it a day: It’s 7 p.m. on a Friday night at Big Momma’s coffee shop on Commercial Street. But Francine Pratt is just warming up, sipping on a big mug of chai tea and reflecting on her crazy week. Pratt, the president of the local chapter of the NAACP—the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People—has a full-time job working on child support projects with Maximus, Inc., a government services provider. Francine’s week started in California and took her to Virginia. She then spent Friday in Missouri, seeing clients in Jefferson City. It’s all in a week’s work for this 51-year-old.

Pick up the May’s edition of 417 Magazine to read the entire article or click here.

After 15 years of investigating and resolving discrimination complaints within the city of Springfield, Kathy Clancy could be out of a job.

City Manager Greg Burris has proposed eliminating her office — the Mayor’s Commission on Human Rights and Community Relations — saving the city $129,831. A January memo recommending the cut indicated that with a 1.5 percent shortfall in sales tax, the city is facing a $5.75 million funding shortfall.

Francine Pratt, president of the local NAACP, said she was shocked to hear the local commission could be closed.

“Since I became president I’ve been getting two to three calls a week relating to some kind of discrimination,” said Pratt. Not having the local commission would be “devastating” she said.

When a Springfield resident believes he or she has been discriminated against by an employer, a business or a landlord, the Human Rights Commission will hear his or her side of the story and the side of the accused, talk to witnesses, and tell parties what they think. If commissioners agree discrimination occurred — records show that’s pretty rare — they will try to negotiate a settlement.

Courtesy of Cory de Vera, News-Leader. Read the full article here.

In a press conference on Feb. 27, the NAACP announced its alliance with Drury University and plans to settle into a new office in the campus Diversity Center, the site of the historic Washton Avenue Baptist Church.

Article Courtesy of The Mirror.

The decision by Drury University to give much needed office space to the Springfield chapter of the NAACP is not only generous.

It’s smart.

The move adds appropriate oomph to Drury’s diversity efforts. It also should help everyone realize that the university is taking seriously its pledge to further open the campus to folks of all hues, shades and backgrounds.

There’s also a nice bow atop this present.

Drury’s decision will allow the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to use an old church with historic ties to the area’s black community.

Explaining that the NAACP decades ago used to meet at the Washington Avenue Baptist Church, local NAACP President Francine Pratt said, “We’re humbled and honored. …”

The church had been the second location used by the oldest black congregation in Springfield.

Pratt, who has taken the reins to an organization that has been plagued by infighting in years past, has pledged to try hard to build membership. She vowed in a previous interview to strengthen links between the NAACP and local civic, educational and community groups.

It’s impressive to see the Drury collaboration come so soon.

We hope she succeeds similarly in increasing membership, which has dwindled. Previous NAACP President Larry Maddox said there should be many more standing committees for the agency to reach its potential. Such committees, in areas like legal redress and education, help minority citizens address problems.

For Drury, this is the latest of several significant recent moves to reach out to minority students and area residents.

University President Todd Parnell said Drury wants to increase its number of minority students by 40 over the next four years.

Extending a hand of friendship to a respected but struggling civil rights institution is will go a long way to show potential students — as well as the Springfield community — that the university is sincere.

We’re pleased and hopeful about this new, civil, cultural and downright neighborly effort.

Article Courtesy of News-Leader.

For decades, the public contacted the local NAACP chapter through a post office box or by calling the president’s personal phone number.

Photo Credit: Didi Tang/News-Leader

That is about to change.

On Friday, Drury University announced a partnership that will give the local civil rights group office space inside the historic Washington Avenue Baptist Church — now Drury’s Diversity Center. The office has also been assigned a university phone line.

This delighted Denny Whayne, a Springfield city councilman.

“It’ll be a place to come and visit with (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People),” Whayne said. “It will build a better relationship with the community.”

Drury President Todd Parnell said the partnership will benefit the university, too, as it will help create a more diverse campus and attract minority students.

The partnership was developed after the local NAACP chapter elected a new president, Francine Pratt, who took office Jan. 1. She wants the group to build an infrastructure to better connect with the public.

Meanwhile, Lynn Chipperfield, a Drury trustee who also chairs the university’s President’s Council on Diversity, joined the local NAACP chapter and received a letter from the group that outlined its objectives, one of which was to set up an office this year.

Before long, Drury made an offer.

“All I did was to put two and two together,” Chipperfield said.

Neither the private university nor Pratt revealed how much NAACP will pay Drury for the space at the Diversity Center, but Pratt said the cost would be “very, very minor.”

She also said her group will be able to use the facility as long as it’s needed.

Pratt said Friday the new office will open July 1, a party will be thrown and President Barack Obama will be invited.

She noted the symbolism of locating the local NAACP office inside the historic church.

“The NAACP met at the Washington Avenue Baptist Church over 40 years ago,” Pratt said. “We’re humbled and honored to have the opportunity to call the Drury Diversity Center the new home of the Springfield chapter of the NAACP.”

The church was the second home to the oldest black congregation in Springfield.

To make room for campus expansion, Drury bought the church and — in 2000 — disassembled and moved it 200 feet to the north.

It was renamed as Drury’s Diversity Center.

On Friday, Parnell said having the NAACP on campus is in line with Drury’s diversity commitment.

Last year, the university began to offer the Edward Jones Minority Scholarship Program, which awards $10,000 annually to eligible minority students.

Last summer, Drury organized a weeklong college experience for 15 black students from Pipkin Middle School. Drury officials say they are planning to expand the summer program to accommodate 65 students this year.

Minority students make up about 5 percent of the day-school population at Drury. Parnell said the university wants to add 40 more minority students over the next four years.

SPRINGFIELD , Mo., Feb. 27, 2009 —Drury University’s Diversity Center is the new home for the offices of the Springfield Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“One of Drury’s goals is to nurture an environment of inclusion for all persons and to build a more diverse campus,” says Todd Parnell, Drury’s president. “Having the NAACP at Drury helps in the achievement of this goal and builds an atmosphere of inclusive excellence that will enhance the Drury community.”

This collaboration is the first of what Drury and the NAACP hope will be many partnerships that will serve the missions of both organizations and contribute to the global community. Both believe the partnership will further the cause of social justice for everyone.

“The NAACP met at the Washington Avenue Baptist Church over 40 years ago. We are humbled and honored to have the opportunity to call the Drury Diversity Center the new home of the Springfield Chapter of the NAACP,” says Francine Pratt, president of the NAACP. “It is my hope that the partnership with Drury University will inspire people in the community to visit our office, take part in activities on the campus and look at the opportunities for local students to attend Drury University and other institutions of higher learning in the Springfield area.”

Pratt’s husband, Wes, a 1973 Drury graduate, was baptized at the church, sang in the youth choir and served as the president of the NAACP Youth Chapter while in high school when the organization met at the Historic Washington Avenue Baptist Church in the 1960s.

The Diversity Center was formerly known as the Washington Avenue Baptist Church, and it was the second home of the oldest African-American congregation in Springfield. To make room for campus expansion, Drury purchased the church and in 2000 disassembled and moved it 200 feet to the north of its original location. The formal name is: the Drury University Diversity Center at Historic Washington Avenue Baptist Church.

The NAACP is using an office in another building on campus until the Diversity Center becomes available and is outfitted to suit the organization’s needs. The NAACP plans to move into the Diversity Center on July 1. Besides locating its offices at Drury, the NAACP and Drury are collaborating in other ways as well:

• The NAACP plans to establish a college chapter at Drury and other area institutions;
• The NAACP will provide a civil rights support system for all students at Drury and at other area institutions;
• Drury will support the Youth Empowerment Conference that takes place at Missouri State University in October, which will provide minority students workshops for career and academic development; and
• Drury is sponsoring a local high school student to attend the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Conference in Oakland, Ca. in April.

Pratt was elected to the presidency of the NAACP Springfield Chapter in November 2008 and took office on Jan. 1, 2009. Monthly chapter meetings will still be the third Saturday of every month from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Midtown Carnegie Library.

For more information on the Springfield Chapter of the NAACP, call (417) 873-6386.

The national organization of the NAACP celebrated its 100 th anniversary on Feb. 12, 2009.