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Statement from NAACP over new board appointees

Today Governor Deal made a decision to continue chipping away at voting rights in Georgia by removing 6 School Board Members elected by the Citizens of DeKalb County, Georgia and replacing them with his choosing.

DeKalb County, Georgia is now the 6th County where a Georgia Governor has taken away the rights of the people to choose those who represent them. Ironically, the majority of Elected Officials affected by this unchecked power have been African American. Less  than two of those Elected Officials removed by the Governor have been Caucasian.

The Georgia State Conference NAACP is disappointed but not surprised that Governor Nathan Deal has elected to devalue the rights of voters in DeKalb County and throughout Georgia. This is a slap in the face to people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers and others who fought, bled and died that we might have the right to vote.

The Georgia State Conference NAACP vows to continue fighting the constitutionality of this power in DeKalb and other counties where Elected Officials have been removed by the Governor.

The Governor’s decision to remove these School Board Members is more about power, control, and chipping away at the Voting Rights Act and less about the best interest of the children.

This is a dark period in Georgia and in our country and is a reminder to many, of the period of reconstruction when Black Elected Officials were removed only to return to the era of slavery and Jim Crow.