The Cincinnati Beacon
Smitherman Inspires More Insanity from The Enquirer
Friday, July 27, 2007
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
 Photo courtesy of here.
I must say that this morning’s Enquirer has me totally confused. It features a headline which reads ”Smitherman to run in defiance.” It seems to be based on a press statement issued yesterday from the local NAACP. But I just re-read that statement three times, as well as The Enquirer article, and it really looks like the paper is just plain making things up! I mean, I’ve been complaining about The Enquirer for some time, but it’s so strange to have the document in my hand, and to read their purely fictitious take on that same document!
Here is the meat of the Enquirer story by Howard Wilkinson:
Cincinnati’s NAACP branch has decided to defy the national leadership of the civil-rights organization and allow its president, Christopher Smitherman, to remain in office while he runs this fall for Cincinnati City Council.
An official of the national NAACP office in Baltimore told The Enquirer last week that the organization’s policies require Smitherman, elected branch president this year, to step down at least temporarily as he tries to regain the City Council seat he lost two years ago.
One long-time local NAACP member said the action would likely set off a fight between the local branch and the national organization, which plans to hold its annual convention in Cincinnati next August.
“The stage has been set for a showdown between local branch and the national organization,” said retired federal Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, who was the national NAACP chief lawyer from 1969 to 1979. “There’s only one NAACP, and that is the national organization. The local branches have to live by their rules.”
Smitherman sent out a press release Thursday from the NAACP’s Bond Hill office saying the branch’s 20-member executive committee had met Wednesday and determined he can run for city council without giving up the presidency.
An aide at the local NAACP office said Thursday that Smitherman was out of town. He could not be reached for comment. Phone calls to the NAACP’s national office in Baltimore went unanswered Thursday.
I received Thursday’s press release. Here it is:
July 26, 2007
NAACP Press Release
On July 25, 2007, The Executive Committee of the Cincinnati National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Branch met, reviewed the policy, and determined that the NAACP President Christopher Smitherman can run for Cincinnati City Council.
What interests me is this line from Wilkinson’s report: “Smitherman sent out a press release Thursday from the NAACP’s Bond Hill office saying the branch’s 20-member executive committee had met Wednesday and determined he can run for city council without giving up the presidency.”
Now you see the press release right here. Does it say “without giving up the presidency”? As we explored in this article, Smitherman will, upon winning a seat to City Council, need to tender his resignation. At that point, the executive committee will decide whether or not they wish to accept that resignation. If they do not accept the resignation, they can keep Smitherman as president.
Also, look at how Wilkinson says that “Smitherman sent out a press release Thursday from the NAACP’s Bond Hill office.” In the next paragraph, he says Smitherman is out of town. He is trying to make Smitherman look like a liar! How does Wilkinson know who sent the press release?
My press release was sent via email, for example, and it did not come from Smitherman’s email account. How do I know from where the email was sent? It could have been at the NAACP office, but it also could have been from the sender’s home, or wireless laptop.
I don’t fault the Enquirer for writing a story about Smitherman and this alleged NAACP controversy, but why is it so hard for them to get simple things right?
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