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SWEATDC FITNESS CLASS
Thursday, December 1, 2016
6:30pm
641 S Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Our next health event, will be a Fitness Class hosted by Coach G of SWEAT DC on Thursday, December 1, 2016. Space is limited, so please RSVP early to reserve a seat. To RSVP email RSVP@naacpdc.org.
The NAACP DC Branch has partnered with SWEATDC to host a Fitness Class on Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 6:30pm as a component of a 12 Month Health Program, "Health Is the New Wealth." This fitness class will be held at SWEATDC located at 641 S Street NW in Washington D.C. This event is free to individuals registered for this 12-Month Health Program. Space is limited, so participants must RSVP for this event by emailing RSVP@naacpdc.org.
SWEATDC is a fitness popup workout party that allows large groups to come together and do a total body workout with a live DJ and motivational coach on site. They believe sweat can transform your body and strengthen your mind and that workouts should be fun. Their philosophy is to let the music drive you with the live DJ motivating you to burn fat, tone muscle, and sculpt your body.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE
NAACP 2017 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The NAACP DC Branch held Election of Officers and At-Large Executive Committee Members on Thursday, November 10, 2016. The NAACP DC Branch Installation of Officers and Executive Committee Members will be conducted at the NAACP Annual Meeting and Holiday Party on Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 6:30pm at the Thurgood Marshall Center. The following members were elected by the general membership to serve on the NAACP DC Branch Executive Committee:
OFFICERS: | | President | Akosua Ali | First Vice President | Mossi Tull | Second Vice President | Rev. Dr. Charlette Stokes Manning | Third Vice President | Jamal Watkins | Secretary | Crystal Long | Assistant Secretary | Celina Stewart | Treasurer | Angela Wood | Assistant Treasurer | Sherry McNeill | | | EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS: | | ACT-SO Chair | Ruby Lewis | Climate Justice Chair | Alexandra McBride | Climate Justice Co-Chair | Ming Lowe; Crystal Long | Criminal Justice Chair | Salim Adofo | Criminal Justice Co-Chair | Hubert Owens, Jr. | Education Chair | LaFonda Willis | Education Co-Chair | Cherita Whiting | Fundraising Chair | Brittney Calloway | Fundraising Co-Chair | Frank Wilds | Health Chair | Tambra Raye Stevenson | Housing Chair | Floyd May | Membership Chair | Shirley Riven Smith | Political Action Chair | Douglass Sloan | Political Action Co-Chair | Khadijah Brydson | Public Relations Chair | Annemarie Stephens | Public Relations Co-Chair | Joi C. Ridley | Religious Affairs Chair | Vincent J. Van Jr. | Veteran Affairs Chair | Robert Brannum | Veteran Affairs Co-Chair | Joe Wynn | Women in NAACP (WIN) Chair | Carmel Henry | | | AT LARGE MEMBERS: | | | Juan Thompson | | James Williams |
THE NAACP'S POSITION ON
CHARTER SCHOOLS
AN OP-ED FROM NAACP NATIONAL PRESIDENT/CEO
Rev. Dr. Cornell W. Brooks, Esq.
As America's oldest civil rights organization, the NAACP has fought to this very day to give each of the nation's youngest citizens a quality education regardless of race. We have even taken that fight to the marble steps of the Supreme Court. There, in the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision, Chief Justice Earl Warren ruled, "In the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
Over 60 years later, these words ring resoundingly true in the hearts of parents who know all too well that in all too many cases, the education their children are receiving remains separate and unequal.
Earlier this year, 2,000 delegates representing virtually every school district across the country passed a resolution calling for a reasoned pause on charter school expansion, not rash elimination. The National Board then ratified the convention delegates' position, reaffirming decades of NAACP support for public education. Many allies have commended our position and raised very similar concerns, including the Movement for Black Lives, which called for an end to charter schools as we know them just weeks after our July convention. But there has also been much unfounded outrage, with some critics even claiming that our decades-old position is contrary to the NAACP's mission.
The NAACP has called for a pause on the expansion of charter schools in order to ensure the quality of them all. We are also calling for solutions, such as better educated and certified teachers that work for students across the board.
Let us be clear, there is a role for high performing charter schools. However, we cannot continue to ignore the proliferation of low-performing charter schools that lack accountability. According to the Center for Research on Education Outcomes, while 27 percent of charter schools outperform traditional public schools in math and reading, 25 percent of charters performed worse. Charter schools are doing no better than traditional public schools at meeting the expectations that we parents hold for our children's education.
We are sensitive to the needs of African-American parents across our country whose public school systems have failed their children. Parents should not have to wait for the public school system to get this right. However, many parents have also been lured by the false promises of charter school systems that actually underperform public schools. As The New York Times reported earlier this year, in Detroit the results have been disastrous to both traditional and charter schools. And, there are similar races to the bottom in communities all across the country.
Every school district is like a large family, made up of all sorts of students with diverse skills and abilities. Charter schools fragment those families, selecting only some students with the most apparent skills and abilities. As a result, only about 25 percent of charter schools have student bodies that mirror the demographics of their respective sending districts.
Research demonstrates that though charter schools promise a superior education, many have created a privileged subset of privately run, publicly funded schools with minimal government oversight, transparency, or accountability and many fail to provide a quality education. The quality of charter schools is inconsistent at best.
Thriving charter schools often owe their success to exclusionary selection processes. In best-case scenarios, admission depends upon a random lottery with only enough spaces for a handful of lucky children. The vast majority of children are sent back to underperforming schools. When we hold charter schools to different and more lax rules than public schools, the most at-risk students fall through the cracks.
For example, many charter schools cherry-pick students who will test well, behave obediently, and have parents with the time to invest in their children's education. This procedure ensures the charter school's appearance of success and leaves English Language Learners and students with special needs to traditional public schools. Federal education data shows that amongst the young people enrolled in charter schools, students of color face disproportionate disciplinary action fueling the preschool to prison pipeline. By applying stringent "no excuses" codes of conduct, they suspend students at higher rates than traditional public schools— and they suspend Black students four times more than White students. The same pattern holds true for students with disabilities.
Finally, there is a practical, good-government concern about some charter schools: when the government puts public funds in the hands of private (often for-profit) operators, it has created some troubling and egregious losses of oversight. As John Oliver notoriously railed on HBO's "Last Week Tonight," such meager systems for accountability have given way to cases of money-mismanagement, such as in Ohio.
The NAACP's latest resolution is not an ideological rejection of charter schools, but a reflection of our historical support of public education – based on today's data and the present experience of our members in school districts around the country.
The NAACP has called for a pause in the growth of charters at least until certain minimum standards apply to all public schools. Our taskforce will lead the charge in ensuring that schools comply with the following: (1) transparency, oversight, and accountability; (2) the maintenance of public funding for traditional public schools; (3) no "cherry picking" by expelling students with special needs and challenges; (4) no perpetuation of de facto segregation; and (5) consistency with existing NAACP policy on basic civil rights protections in public education.
The NAACP does not seek to swiftly exterminate charter schools or extinguish the enthusiasm for effective innovative education that drives them. Instead, just like the NAACP lawyers who argued Brown v. Board, we continue to strive for a public education system that meets the needs of our children. We advocate for a reinvestment of skill, faith, and funds in building a public school system that serves 100 percent of America's schoolchildren.
Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/news-views/naacp-cornell-brooks-charter-schools#ixzz4QDVBsvUR
JUICING CLASS
The NAACP DC Branch partnered with Turning Natural to host a Juicing Class on Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 4:00pm as a component of a 12 Month Health Program, "Health Is the New Wealth." Jerri Evans, Owner of Turning Natural, lead the Juicing Workshop explaining the nutritional benefits of various juices and provided juice samples.
 
 
Turning Natural was started by Jerri's mother, Annette Turner. Annette had a dream for creating healthy living especially through the access of quality fruits and vegetables. After passing away from a long battle of cancer, her daughter, Jerri Evans, continued her legacy in creating fresh and naturals juices. Turning Natural has a wide variety of fresh juices and smoothies that can help with cleansing your body system to a better and healthy lifestyle.
Today, Turning Natural has 2 locations. The newest Turning Natural is located in the Anacostia area in Ward 8 of Washington, DC. Juice orders can be placed online. To view the full menu and place orders, please visit www.turningnatural.com
TURNING NATURAL
2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.
www.turningnatural.com
NUTRITIONAL COOKING CLASS
The NAACP DC Branch partnered with the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington to host a Nutritional Cooking Class on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, as a component of a 12 Month Health Program, "Health Is the New Wealth." The mission of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington is to foster the spiritual, mental & physical development of individuals, families & communities according to the ideals of inclusiveness, equality and mutual respect for all.
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