The Evanston/North Shore Branch of the NAACP voted unanimously Tuesday night to support the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association in its actions to defend the property north of the King Lab School from development by Evanston/Skokie School District 65.
Though the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People says the decision was endorsed by the entire branch, several members said the motion passed only after much opposition from within, specifically from branch president Bennett Johnson.
The NAACP’s actions follow a 6-2 vote by the Evanston City Council Monday night that gave D65 the freedom to develop the land, a move that potentially could devalue the 113 neighboring homes by $3 million.
Johnson said giving the land to D65 was a good idea, but in the end the branch voted to stand behind the neighborhood. But how much support the branch will offer protesters remains unclear.
Johnson said the branch would not be able to support legal action without approval from the national office. At this point, Johnson said the branch will only look at what economic impact the development would have on the neighborhood.
But NAACP member Tana McDonald said the branch will support whatever remedy the neighborhood seeks, including legal action. She said that it was too early to tell what role the NAACP would have in a lawsuit.
“Bennett has a tendency to see things from the other side,” McDonald said.
Rose Cannon, a member of both the NAACP and the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood could begin picketing the decision as early as this weekend. Cannon also said she is seeking help from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
Several NAACP members also criticized Johnson for using his control of Tuesday night’s meeting to support his position.
NAACP member Peggy Tarr said Johnson kept questions concerning D65 off the agenda and blocked discussion, despite requests from members to determine the organization’s response.
Cannon accused Johnson of waiting until more than five hours into the meeting before talking about the city council’s decision.
“He decides what we can and cannot discuss,” Tarr said. “And that’s very unfair.”
But Johnson called the allegations “asinine” and said all issues brought up by members were discussed.
Cannon said concerns about development were brought up by the neighborhood more than a year ago, but that Johnson did not bring them to the attention of the branch.
“(Johnson) does not want the organization to take a stance,” Cannon said.
The issue exacerbates the already tense relationship Johnson has had with the NAACP in the past few months.
Concerns about Johnson’s behavior in branch meetings were raised in a formal complaint, which Cannon said “is sitting on someone in the national office’s desk.”
In January, three members of the branch’s executive committee filed a complaint against Johnson with the regional office of the NAACP on charges of procedural impropriety and financial misconduct.
Johnson said the complaint made no substantive accusations and was dismissed because it was not filed properly.
“All those allegations are frivolous,” Johnson said. He also called the complaint “subversive.”
But Cannon said the complaint was misrouted by the organization. Now, Cannon said she is working to send the complaint to state and national offices.
“We will go all the way to the top, to (NAACP President and CEO) Kweisi Mfume,” Cannon said.
Johnson said the complaint never should have been dealt with publicly.
“This was an internal matter that should have been dealt with within the organization,” Johnson said.
