President’s Annual Report André J. Branch, Ph.D. San Diego Branch NAACP 1 January - 31 December 2015 “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” – 1 Samuel 7:12 As president, I had the privilege of serving the San Diego Branch NAACP for the past year. Although this is the President’s Annual Report, I want to take this opportunity to highlight some of the achievements of the San Diego Branch as a whole. In the past year, our membership has grown more than thirty percent; and we have continued to investigate the many complaints of discrimination that come to our Branch. We participated in two rather significant voter registration events. For one event we co-hosted the screening of the movie, Selma, to which local middle and high school students were invited to a complimentary screening, and we registered voters following the screening. At another voter registration event, we partnered with the National Head Start Association to register voters at its Annual Parents Conference in San Diego. Our Branch was chosen to initiate this national partnership for voter registration between the NAACP and the Head Start National Association. We hosted a number of “first ever” events: One such event was a Prayer Vigil at which local pastors prayed for the healing and racial reconciliation of our land; Another event was a March and Rally at which elected officials, including the Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, joined us to remind elected officials that our lives, our votes, our jobs, and our schools matter. Our San Diego NAACP 60th Annual Freedom Fund Dinner and Holiday Gala, at which we honored students, veterans, and community servants, was one of the most successful Freedom Fund Dinners in recent memory.

2

The San Diego Branch now hosts a radio program each week called Today’s NAACP. You can listen to our talented hosts and their guests discuss current, pertinent civil rights issues each Sunday afternoon on KBLKRadio.com from 1:00 to 2:00 P. M. We could not have realized these accomplishments without the support and hard work of our committed San Diego Branch NAACP members. Thank you for whatever role you played in the work of the San Diego Branch to eliminate racial prejudice and advocate for civil rights.

President’s Activities 1 January – 31 December 2015 Attended the President’s Leadership Retreat – 9-11 January 2015 Represented the San Diego Branch at the Navy’s Martin Luther King Luncheon aboard the Midway – 15 January 2015 Represented the San Diego Branch at the Jackie Robinson Family Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Breakfast – 16 January 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Parade – 18 January 2015 Six members of the Branch Marched in the parade BMW of El Cajon donated a convertible for the parade

Represented the San Diego Branch at the All People’s Breakfast – 19 January 2015 Appeared on Channel 10 News for comment on the racist cartoon used in a Police Officer training event and the lawsuit filed by Sergeant Arthur Scott. Sergeant Scott alleges that as a result of speaking out against the racist cartoon, the San Diego Police department discriminated against him and retaliated against him by transferring him out of his department. – 21 January 2015 Attended the meeting of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the organization that governs all intercollegiate athletics at the high school level in the state of California – 21 January 2015 Attended the Lincoln Cluster Schools Meeting – 21 January 2015 Met with a representative of Office Depot to discuss a collaborative relationship between that organization and the Education Committee of the NAACP San Diego Branch – 26 January 2015 Met with the San Diego Black Police Officers Association regarding the lawsuit filed by Sergeant Arthur Scott. – 29 January 2015

3

Represented the San Diego Branch at the Voice and Viewpoint Gala – 7 February 2015 Accepted an award at the 23rd Annual Kuumba Fest Black History month celebration, “Black To Basics” – 13 February 2015 Represented the San Diego Branch at the Chula Vista Redistricting Commission Meeting – 18 February 2015 Met with Police Chief Sherry Zimmerman regarding Stop Card data in advance of her report to the San Diego City Council– 23 February 2015 Spoke to the Sweetwater Union High School Board of Trustees regarding the failure of the school district to interview any African Americans for any of the three principal administrative positions in that district. Two African Americans contacted the NAACP reporting that they applied for the positions. – 23 February 2015 Interviewed by Channel 10 News regarding the failure of the Sweetwater Union High School District to interview any African Americans for any of the three principal administrative positions in that district. Sweetwater Union High School District has zero African Americans in any of its 100 + principal positions. Attended a meeting of the Legal Redress Committee with two Sweetwater Union High School Board of Trustees, the Duty Officer, and the Director of personnel regarding the failure of the school district to interview any African Americans for any of the three principal administrative positions in that district. – 2 March 2015 Interviewed by the Reader for a story about the Sweetwater Union High School District lack of African American administrators – March 2015 Interviewed by the Union Tribune regarding Chief Zimmerman’s first year as Chief of Police – March 2015 Attended the President’s and Executive Committee Training in Alta Dena, CA—7 March 2015 Met with members of the Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees regarding complaints of custodians at the college who have endured two years of racial discrimination. – 18 March 2015 Represented the Branch at UCSD for an event at which Myrlie Evers spoke about the continuing struggle for Civil Rights in the United States – 9 April 2015

4

Competed successfully for a Collaborative Civic Engagement Project between the NAACP and San Diego State University – Students at San Diego State will work with the Education Committee of the NAACP to investigate racial bullying in the schools in San Diego County – 9 April 2015 Represented the San Diego Branch at the One Day Resolutions Meeting hosted by the State Convention at Bakersfield, California – 11 April 2015 Update of our advocacy for custodians’ at Southwestern Community College – One of the managers who wittingly tolerated racial discrimination in the custodial department has been fired; another has been placed on administrative leave – 22 April 2015 Met with union representatives and complainant regarding discrimination practices in the local iron workers union – 13 May 2015 Attended the Riverside, CA Freedom Fund Celebration – 13 May 2015 Met with Superintendent Stover regarding discrimination in hiring practices of principals in the Sweetwater Union High School District – 14 May 2015 Interviewed a Columbia Law School student who is interested in interning for the NAACP San Diego Branch for the summer of 2015 – 18 May 2015 Met with President Willie Blair of BAPAC to discuss collaborative programs between the NAACP and BAPAC – 2 June 2015 Created and released to the Executive Committee the President’s Vision Statement and 50-day action plan for the San Diego Branch – 6 June 2015 Met with Sandra Ainslie (Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, Director of Education & Creative Placemaking) and Beatriz Garcia (Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, Director of Community Organizing & Civic Engagement) to answer their questions about collaborating with NAACP programs and solicit their participation in the ACT-SO Program for 2015/2016 – 9 June 2015 Met with Mr. Joseph French, Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, Program Coordinator, to discuss recruitment of students at San Diego area High Schools for participation in the 2015/2016 ACT-SO Program – 10 June 2015 Interviewed by Mr. Cliff Albert, News Director at NewsRadio 600 KOGO, regarding a wide range of issues including race relations in the city of San Diego and the United States, opportunities for members of the San Diego community to participate in NAACP programs, and the recent national headlines regarding the NAACP Branch in Spokane, Washington – 17 June 2015

5

Interviewed on live radio program by KOGO regarding the shooting murder of nine individuals at the Charleston, South Carolina church. – 19 June 2015. Represented the San Diego NAACP at the Black American Political Association of California (BAPAC) Men’s Breakfast – 20 June 2015 Met with the leadership of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and the President of the Pan Hellenic Council to discuss collaborative programs between the NAACP and the fraternities and sororities of the Pan Hellenic Council – 24 June 2015 In an effort to continue my education as a new president in the NAACP, I attended the Executive Committee and General Membership meetings of the Hollywood Branch. I also met with the Executive Committee members and standing committee chairs to learn from their programmatic expertise – 27 June 2015 Attended the National Convention of the NAACP in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. The convention was held from 11 – 15 July 2015. I was honored to have been elected to the National Convention Credentials Committee – 11 July 2015 Met with Tayari Howard to the discuss his offer of a weekly radio program for the San Diego Branch NAACP - 22 July 2015 Participated in a press conference regarding the death of Sandra Bland, the African American female who died in police custody in Texas – 22 July 2015 Met with The Urban League to discuss collaborations with the NAACP – 24 July 2015 Appeared on KPBS-TV on Peggy Pico’s TV program and KPBS Radio on Maureen Cavanaugh’s radio program to discuss Aaryn Belfer's story in CityBeat, "How to be an interrupter: A white person's guide to activism.” - 28 July Link to the TV and radio programs: http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/jul/28/how-white-people-american-cansupport-fight-agains/ Link to Belfer’s story: http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/article-14399-how-to-be-aninterrupter.html Represented the San Diego Branch NAACP at the reenactment of the signing of the Voting Rights Act organized by Assemblywoman Weber – 5 August Convened the first meeting of the San Diego March and Rally ad hoc committee for the march and rally preparations – 9 August

6

Secured Assembly member Weber’s Endorsement for the San Diego March and Rally – 10 August Participated in a conference call with Nathan Fletcher to discuss his participation in the San Diego March – 14 August Represented the San Diego Branch and read a resolution at the funeral of Evelyn Steppe – 26 August 2015 Met with managers at Food4Less to discuss its sponsorship of the San Diego March – 27 and 31 August 2015 Met with Dr. Janey, the new Superintendent of Schools for Sweetwater Union High School District – 28 August 2015 Met with San Diego Unified School District Superintendent, Ms. Marten, to resolve a discrimination case. The complaint was resolved successfully with our assistance – 2 September 2015 Participated in an interviewed with Todd Cardiff by KPBS about America’s Journey for Justice March and Rally. http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/sep/15/naacp-leads-march-justice-san-diego/ 15 September 2015 Interviewed by NBC, CBS, KOGO, and various other media outlets regarding the America’s Journey for Justice March and Rally – 16 September 2015 Led the Journey for Justice San Diego March and Rally, which included a number of elected officials (State Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, Councilmembers Myrtle Cole, Todd Gloria, Raquel Vasquez, Jennifer Mendoza, School Board members Marne Foster, Richard Barrera) – 16 September 2015 Met with the State Conference President, Ms. Alice Huffman, and the officers of our Branch - 25 September 2015 Interviewed by Channel 10 about a racist basketball jersey created by students at a local high school. School administrators banned the jersey from school property. – 25 September 2015 Represented the San Diego NAACP at a Black Minds Matter event. I was proud to see our Youth Council President, Ms. Mallory Webb, address those who gathered for this event. – 26 September 2015 Met with Police Chief Zimmerman to encourage a re-investigation of a hit and run fatality. The police department conducted a wider investigation – 2 October 2015

7

Participated in a panel discussion at University of California San Diego on roles for White people in the struggle for African American equality – 4 October 2015 Represented the San Diego Branch NAACP at the Ocean Side Freedom Fund Dinner, accompanied by seven other members, including youth members – 10 October 2015 Represented the San Diego Branch NAACP at the Qualcomm Veterans Day Luncheon, at which Shoshana Johnson was the featured speaker. Ms. Johnson was the first female African American Prisoner of War. – 11 November 2015 Presented the San Diego Branch signature programs at National Pan Hellenic Council San Diego Leadership Retreat – 13 November 2015 Spoke at the Standing Together for Peace Event – I spoke on the subject, “How the San Diego NAACP helps to create a city of respect and Compassion.” The event was organized by Cherokee Point Elementary, San Diego First Church of the Brethren, First United Methodist Church San Diego, San Diego Human Relations Commission, San Diego Regional Interfaith Collaborative, Prison Meditation Project, San Diego Police Department – Mid-City Division, and Jamyang Foundation – 17 November 2015 Represented the San Diego Branch NAACP at the San Diego Black Police Officer’s Turkey Distribution – 18 Nov. 2015 Represented the San Diego Branch at the Black American Political Association of California (BAPAC) Meeting – 21 November 2015 Hosted the Inaugural Radio Program of the San Diego NAACP: Today’s NAACP – 22 November 2015. This new radio program of the San Diego Branch NAACP can be heard on KBLKRadio.com each week Agreed to have the San Diego Branch Partner with Head Start in voter registration at its Annual Parent Conference. The San Diego Branch has the distinction of being the first NAACP Branch to participate in a nationwide partnership event as part of a national agreement between the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Head Start Association. – 23 November 2015 Attended QualComm’s Think A Bit Lab Launch at Lewis Middle School – 3 December 2015 Met with Olivia Burlingame Goumbri, Director, Alumni and Grassroots Advocacy at National Head Start Association to discuss the national voter registration partnership of the NAACP and the Head Start Association – 3 December 2015

8

Presided at the San Diego Branch NAACP 60th Annual Freedom Fund Dinner and Holiday Gala. The theme was “Our Lives, Our Votes, Our Jobs, and Our Schools Matter.” The event was held at the Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter – 3 December 2015 At the invitation of the Parade Reviewing Officer, Sergeant Major Melvin Shepard, attended the Basic Marine Graduation Ceremony at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California. Sergeant Majaor Melvin Shepard is the former Co-Chair of the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committee of the San Diego NAACP – 11 December 2015 Met with leadership of the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Foundation to discus collaboration between the San Diego Branch NAACP and the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Foundation – 22 December Respectfully Submitted, André J. Branch, Ph.D. President