NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) Nashville President, Venita Lewis, has been suspended.
She was suspended for actions that "undermined the mission and work of the NAACP," according to a media statement from NAACP.
They said her behavior provided cause for her removal from the organization.
According to the release, they issued a statement due to recent allegations made by Ms. Lewis against the organization and the NAACP State Conference leadership.
"We want to ensure that our members and the public know that we would not allow anyone to cause harm to our members or perpetuate mistruths about the actions of our members. It’s important that our membership and the public know the NAACP’s position. We will continue to focus on advancing the rights and concerns of people of color in the state of Tennessee and support the advocacy work of the Nashville Branch NAACP," the NAACP statement reads.
NewsChannel 5 reached out to Venita Lewis regarding the suspension, and she responded as follows:
"When we took over this branch we brought in over 300 new members, which was historic. This Nashville branch had been managed for the elitists of the community. It has suffered from not addressing the issues in our community. I've been in this space for 40 years, I have marched with Dick Gregory, Al Sharpton, Scott King, and Hosea Williams. I wanted to make it an organization for the people, for the common man, a gross contrast to what the organization has been. We won two national awards this year and a state award for our leadership. This state president has ousted several elected leaders in the organization. It is a trend toward dictatorial control of the branch."
NAACP has not released information regarding the specifics of what she was suspended for. Once we know more, we will update the story.
