THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 18, 1994 TAG: 9408180553
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
A fight against discrimination turned into a crusade to oust the president of the Portsmouth NAACP at a chapter meeting Tuesday night.
Clyde Toler, a vice president of the Portsmouth branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, launched a petition drive to remove Ethel Robinson as president after she declined to help dozens of residents fight alleged injustices at several businesses, at the Churchland post office and in the city's public housing communities.
During the Tuesday meeting, Toler asked Robinson to allow members of the audience to discuss their concerns. Robinson wouldn't let Toler or audience members speak, prompting a mass exodus from the Third Baptist Church on Godwin Avenue.
Robinson said Toler was ``out of order'' in speaking at the meeting and in complaining to the media.
Toler said several people had come to the meeting to join the Portsmouth NAACP and then began asking for refunds of the dues they had paid.
``Mrs. Robinson should have heard those people's complaints and then put a formal committee in action,'' Toler said. ``She should have had people ready to demonstrate in front of the post office.''
Robinson's response: ``I'm not going to debate or attempt to answer those complaints. There are procedures we follow, and Mr. Toler should follow them.
Toler said he is gathering residents to stage a march and rally on Monday. Speeches will be made condemning discrimination at the post office and the city's housing authority, he said, and there will be a call for Robinson to step down from her NAACP post.
Toler has crusaded often on behalf of public housing residents, at times helping them get repairs to their homes. He said that in the past two years he has helped settle as many as 60 discrimination complaints on public housing and other issues.
Irene Outlaw, who attended Tuesday's meeting, said in an interview Wednesday that Portsmouth residents ``have always depended on the NAACP.''
``But the wrong people are in charge at the present time,'' Outlaw said. ``If those women in charge were like Mr. Toler, we wouldn't be talking now, we wouldn't have walked out last night.''
Outlaw said she was especially concerned that the meeting hurt efforts to recruit people into the organization.
``I believe the NAACP is the right place to go for help,'' she said. ``But how can you get out and recruit new members to the NAACP when they're not taking care of your needs and problems? There were white people there last night who wanted help, too, and look how they were treated. The woman was totally wrong.''
More than a half-dozen people went to the meeting to talk about alleged discrimination and sexual harassment at the Churchland branch of the post office. At least three employees there have filed complaints with the Equal Opportunity Commission alleging racial bias.
Judith Deegan, the postmaster in Portsmouth, has said the complaints are unfounded.
``To my knowledge there is no problem at any of the post offices,'' Deegan said. ``This issue has been previously discussed with the NAACP. Statistics indicate that there is absolutely no difference in treatment (of employees) based upon any racial issues.''
Toler said he has launched an investigation into the complaints there. But he was hoping Robinson would form a committee to help him look into the grievances.
Toler and Ted Davis, a postal employee, also have complained to U.S. Rep. Norman Sisisky.
Others at Tuesday night's meeting criticized the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Some public housing tenants said they could not get needed repairs done to their homes. Toler also has charged that the housing authority is discriminating by placing black residents in public housing while giving white residents vouchers to rent homes in other neighborhoods.
The City Council has asked the housing authority to provide a racial breakdown on housing-assistance recipients and data on where they live. ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/
Clyde Toler, a vice president of the Portsmouth NAACP, launched a
petition drive to remove Ethel Robinson as chapter president after
she refused to hear residents' complaints at a meeting.
by CNB