New president of N.C. NAACP to speak at local branch

Press release from Asheville-Buncombe County NAACP:

ASHEVILLE – Rev. T. Anthony Spearman was elected president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP in October 2017. He will be the featured speaker at the Asheville-Buncombe County Branch NAACP’s first regular meeting of the New Year on Tuesday, January 9 at 6:30PM. The Branch invites the public and media to join them at Hill Street Baptist Church, 135 Hill Street, Asheville 28801. This is a great opportunity for Western North Carolina to hear Rev. Spearman’s vision for the future of the State Conference under his leadership.

For over a decade Rev. Spearman worked closely with former State Conference President Rev. William Barber. Spearman’s plan is to ensure the growing diversity that has been present in the NAACP since it’s inception, to continue developing coalition partnerships and allies, to keep up the battle against voter suppression efforts of partisan legislators in Raleigh and to advocate for fair courts in NC.

Rev. Spearman vows to continue the Forward Together, Not One Step Back Movement legacy of Rev. Barber. The Historic Thousands on Jones Street People’s Assembly Coalition (HKonJ) marches and Moral Monday demonstrations have become a large part of protest culture in NC; the annual HKonJ Moral March on Raleigh will take place on February 10. The new president’s goal is to have more and more Moral Mondays in cities and towns across the state.

Spearman’s engagement with the NAACP started as a youth. Moving into a white neighborhood in 1963 where his parents had purchased their family home, they encountered strong resistance. His father knew then that his children would be fighting for their rights for some time to come, and got the young Spearman and his sister their first NAACP memberships.