Georgia NAACP President Unveils New Team in Fight for Civil Rights
Atlanta – The Georgia NAACP proudly announces the new appointments to the administration under President Gerald A. Griggs. Under the new administration, the top five issues on Griggs’s agenda include Police accountability, protecting voter rights and civil rights, voter turnout, and
providing resources to Black families battling the effects of COVID-19.
President Griggs has appointed the following members as the standing committee chairs:
• Rev. Rutha Jackson as the Religious Affairs Chair. Rev. Jackson brings 23 years of pastoral experience. She is the only woman to have been appointed as the Religious Affairs Chair for the Georgia State Conference National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP). She founded the first-ever African American newspaper, Tri-City Newspaper in Houston County, Georgia.
• Dontaye Carter as the Communications / Press and Publicity Chair.Mr. Carter brings 16 years of media and public relations experience to the Georgia NAACP. Through his multi-media public relations firm, Carter Media Group, Mr. Carter has worked with attorneys to pursue justice in the prosecution and conviction of Robert Sylvester Kelly, Travis and Gregory McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan. His work in both cases earned him national and international recognition.
• Porchse “Queen” Miller as the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs. Ms. Miller is an Army veteran, nationally recognized organizer, and founder and CEO of “The Reformative Action Nationwide Task Force”. She earned the “Future is Blue” award from the Young Democrats of Georgia for her voter turnout work in 2020 - 2021.
• Raymond McClendon as the Political Action Chair. Mr. McClendon has more than 30 years of experience in community organizing and outreach, nonprofit training, and community engagement. His experience includes managing a major mayoral campaign, policy, fundraising adviser to multiple campaigns, and nonprofit activities for grassroots organizations.
• Synamon Baldwin as the Women in the NAACP Chair. Ms. Baldwin is a proven leader focusing on voter registration/education, public education, equality justice, and economic development. She is the CEO of the Smith Group of Metropolitan Atlanta. She is charged with identifying, vetting, training, and managing local and state millennial candidates.
• Michael (Mike) Terrell as the Labor and Industry Chair. Terrell is a Life Member of the NAACP. He is an advocate for social justice and has been a proponent of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout his professional career which spans over 25 years with Coca-Cola Company, Tyson Foods, Anheuser-Busch, and Sara Lee.
• Jeriene Bonner Grimes as the Freedom Fund Chair. Mrs. Grimes is a civil servant, active community member, and a human rights advocate in Cobb County. Currently, she serves as the President of the Cobb County NAACP branch. Ms. Bonner Grimes is also on the Board of Directors for LifeSafe Resources, an organization committed to providing safety and healing to those impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse.
• Alfred “Shivy” Brooks, II as the Education Chair. Mr. Brooks II is an educator with more than 20 years of experience in human resource management, logistics, and special project coordination. He was voted “Most Influential Educator” three years in a row. Mr. Brooks, II. also hosts a national show, “Teacher Talk Live”, which dives into the intersection of education and politics.
• Penny Poole as the Housing Chair. Ms. Poole has an extensive real estate residential sales background along with certificates in housing counseling and education. Her love of family and community led her to advocate for families and children since the late 1980s. She has held every position as a mother of two active boys who matriculated with them in school and sports. She is a 25-year Scout Leader serving as Cub Master for Pack 251.
• Karen Renee as the Legal Redress Chair. Ms. Renee is an East Point City Councilor, attorney, and the program director with the Atlanta NAACP. She is a corporate-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion thought program leader providing vision, goals, and best practices while catalyzing change and aligning strategy development, financial acumen, and operational planning capabilities to advance racial justice.
• Maria Banjo as the Criminal Justice Chair. Attorney Banjo brings more than a decade of prosecutorial and criminal defense experience. She also brings extensive experience managing high-profile candidates. She’s been recognized for demonstrating a natural aptitude for advocating on behalf of the voiceless, as well as for providing team leadership, driving performance, program improvement, and quality initiatives, I have a verifiable history of contributing directly to organizational growth and efficiency throughout my career.
• Hannah Joy Gebresilassie as the Community Coordination. Gebresilassie is an experienced journalist, producer, and organizer recognized for her philanthropy and activism work. She is currently the Executive Director of Protect the Vote GA and the founder of Hannah Joy TV, which has a community of 100K members.
“Every one of the individuals selected to lead a committee has already proven their ability to obtain results. We understand the moment of now. 2020 showed us we can’t go back. We must move forward in a way where we are bringing us all along. Today is the beginning of the GA NAACP’s step forward,” said GA NAACP President Gerald Griggs.
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