Tuesday, July 25, 2017

NAACP names fraudster as interim President

The Executive Committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People appointed Derrick Johnson as interim President and CEO of the civil rights organization.  Mr. Johnson has been the president of the Mississippi Chapter of the NAACP.  However, JJ readers will remember that Derrick Johnson was busted for operating a bogus charity several years ago.   JJ reported on August 30, 2013:

The Secretary of State cracked down on a Derrick Johnson charity.  It seems our head of the Mississippi NAACP is paid $120,000 a year to operate One Voice, a non-profit with the same address as the state NAACP.   Although One Voice is considered to be a charity or non-profit, in reality it is a slush fund as most of the money is spent on consultants, travel, and salaries.  Employees could sign checks made payable to themselves.  Debit cards were issued to officers.  $1.78 million a year makes for a nice little slush fund.

One Voice states its purpose is to "enhance civic engagement in the formation of public policy through leadership development, research support, training, and technical assistance for advocacy groups, associations, and community-based organizations with the purpose of improving the quality of life for African-Americans and other disenfranchised communities."

The state said One Voice did not submit audited financial statements nor was it registered with the state as required by law.  The state also said One Voice tried to avoid submitting all records when they were requested. The state said One Voice paid for individuals to attend NAACP events in Los Angeles. It paid overdraft fees of $1,650.  It allowed officers to use ATM cards to withdraw cash from the company's bank account. One Voice even chipped in on a trip to Paris, France for an unnamed person.  Officers, directors, employees were allowed to sign checks made payable to themselves.

What is interesting is the state said "One Voice should not be soliciting funds, including submitting grant applications, to Mississippi based individuals and organizations." One Voice agreed these facts were true and waived a hearing on the matter.   One Voice cannot solicit in Mississippi unless it submits a complete renewal registration and is approved by the state
 The 2012 Form 990 states Derrick Johnson earned $120,000 as the Executive Director for One Voice.  One Voice received $1.78 million in revenue. One Voice operated at a loss of $122,581.  It spent:

$548,684 on salaries
$164,500 on travel
$128,547 on conferences
$539,733 on consultants


 Kingfish note: Let's call One Voice what it is: a slush fund.  A slush fund for Derrick Johnson and his merry band of cronies.  Writing checks to themselves.  Debit cards. Trips to LA and Paris.  The question that should be asked is why the Secretary of State is satisfied with a Consent Order instead of issuing fines more than $500.  There is no point in referring the case to the Attorney General for criminal prosecution, as the AG does not prosecute SOS referrals in criminal court.
 The 2015 990 for One Voice states that Mr. Johnson was paid a salary of $125,000.  One Voice lost $735,183 as it only had revenue of $902,791 (down from $2.6 million the previous year.).  One Voice salaries and compensation were $868,225. 

Meanwhile, the NAACP bragged about Mr. Johnson's appointment on its website:

 On July 22, 2017, the executive committee of the NAACP National Board of Directors unanimously named Derrick Johnson as Interim President and CEO. Derrick Johnson formerly served as vice chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors as well as state president for the Mississippi State Conference NAACP.

A longstanding member and leader of the NAACP, Mr. Johnson will guide the Association through a period of re-envisioning and reinvigoration. Until a new president is selected, Mr. Johnson will serve as the NAACP’s primary spokesperson.....

 Mr. Johnson is a veteran activist who has dedicated his career to improving defending the rights and improving the lives of Mississippians. As State President of the NAACP Mississippi State Conference, he led critical campaigns for voting rights and equitable education. He successfully managed two bond referendum campaigns in Jackson, MS that brought $150 million in school building improvements and $65 million towards the construction of a new convention center, respectively. As a regional organizer at the Jackson-based non-profit, Southern Echo, Inc., Mr. Johnson provided legal, technical, and training support for communities across the South.

In recognition for his service to his home state, the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court appointed Mr. Johnson to the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, and the Governor of Mississippi appointed him Chair of the Governor’s Commission for Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal after devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Johnson founded One Voice Inc. to improve the quality of life for African Americans through civic engagement training and initiatives. One Voice has spawned an annual Black Leadership Summit and the Mississippi Black Leadership Institute, a nine month training program for community leaders. Rest of statement.
Kingfish note: Then there is the matter of the Hinds County redistricting fiasco in 2012.  Read about it here
but that is a discussion for another day.  




29 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Mr. Johnson will lead the organization through a period of re-envisioning and reinvigoration".

Dang....This must be the same guy the Ole Myth search committee is looking for!

Anonymous said...

That national organization just lost all credibility. Medgar Evers is spinning in his grave.

Anonymous said...

This seems just about right...Johnson can find innovative ways for the organization to raise funds. But, he or the organization will never be aggressively investigated because supporters will feign racism.

Anonymous said...

Why does the African American community turn a blind eye to the hucksters who enrich themselves while proclaiming to be an activist for betterment in the African American community? Why don't they spend more time and energy lauding the accomplishments of successful African Americans as an example to their youth? They hold up a fraud as an example for leaders in the Advancement of Colored People. What they have is a perfect recipe for failure and resentment in perpetuity. The African American community's worst enemy is the African American community and its leadership..

Anonymous said...

10:24 presumes that the white community never turns a blind eye to hucksters who enrich themselves while proclaiming to be an activist for betterment. Interesting. I may be able to think of one or two.

Anonymous said...

@10:24 I use to work in the personal finance sector. I had several African American customers tell myself and others that the NAACP didn't care about them and was only out for money. They aren't turning a blind eye, nor are they stupid. They just don't know what to do about it.

Anonymous said...

The African American community is just taking pages from the European Americans handbook and using it to their advantage. European Americans have been slush funding for centuries, but once an African American profits from it then it’s a problem. Way to use that Privilege Card, Pilgrim.

Anonymous said...

@ 10:54 & 10:39 This post is about African American leadership and you two race baiters move straight to bringing in "what about whitey?"

Perfect example of why the black community can't get sh*+ done for themselves

Anonymous said...

Let you in on a little secret. African American leadership is no less money hungry
and two faced than European American leadership. Find a political interest organization that doesn't operate a slush fund or worse. The NAACP like most Black run organizations is not as experienced or sophisticated at hiding it's subsidiary dealings and funding sources as white interest groups. Too bad. Several years ago the NAACP discovered that it could not operate as a full time organization on volunteer staff. The decision to pay full time employees meant entering the nasty world of "charity" fundraising and the often fast and loose accounting practices that too often these "charities" employ. The Black community knows about it, but like the Church, decide to balance the need for the organization with the sleeze that comes with fund raising. Black people who once desperately depended on the
NAACP have no real reason to trust the present state of affairs enough to get rid of this organization. You never know when it will be needed!

Anonymous said...

"Perfect example of why the black community can't get sh*+ done for themselves"


Oprah Winfrey
Michael Jordan
Barack Obama
Robert Johnson
Magic Johnson
Tyler Perry
Russell Simmons

When you make statements about an entire race based on a few examples, you show 1 of 2 things.

1) Ignorance
2) Racist

What's interesting is how people try to define an entire minority communities by a few examples. For instance, people try to make Jackson represent the entire black community. Do the trailer parks in Pearl represent the entire white community in Mississippi? Does every white kid in Mississippi have a similar upbringing to the kids who grew up in gated communities in Madison who attended JA?

Anonymous said...

1:25 -- when an entire race allows one group like the NAACP to represent them (and blacks do nationally - based on the NAACP's power in DC and elsewhere and no groups within the black community actively countering the NAACP's positions).....then yes they do represent that race -- defacto because no one pushes back in minority communicates and says, Nope -- you are not my leadership and I do not agree with you philosophically. So....your argument is invalid in this case -- they appear to represent blacks and blacks allow this representation. Until the blacks/minorities choose to disassociate themselves from racist groups, then they are racist themselves. Kind of like -- if I don't disavow the KKK then I am implicitly supporting their positions. Another example of "clean up" required in the minority communities -- they want their cake and eat it too. They are basically stating, "Don't call me racist, but I have a racist group representing me and promoting an agenda that helps me." How would that work out for all of us who are white, if we let the KKK or some other white supremacist group run the agenda for all of us and tell people what we thought, and then we said.......nothing. Crickets!! Just allowed them to do our dirty work while disavowing it personally, but not publicly. Happens all the time in minority communities.

Anonymous said...


White people often turn a blind eye to corruption---Case 1=Bernie Ebbers, Case 2=Buster Bailey, Case 3=Bernie Madoff----all three of these guys have stolen millions of dollars from investors----two of the three are being punished and the third is free to come and go as he pleases. $26.4 million missing and the investors still don't know what was done with their money---there is a small attempt to pay investors back---that is just a ploy to stay out of jail. What a web of lies and deceit we weave.

Anonymous said...

Normally I would not even address the ignorant ass rant of a blind moron like you, but since you would obviously interpret silence as agreement I must correct your stupid ass. Black people have aligned themselves with many, many, political and social groups during the past couple hundred years. Many of these groups do not
align themselves with the NAACP or it's positions. Some are conservative, some are liberal, some are socialist, some are capitalist, some are militant, some are non-violent. The few organizations asses like you are aware of like the NAACP, are the ones the white establishment and media find to be "safe'. So they are allowed, by whites to be the "spokesmen" for black people. The others are often ignored until or unless they do something violent or repulsive to white people. The governor of Mississippi is no great friend of Black people, yet when making appointments to multi-racial commissions he looks to the NAACP. Also Einstein, when you are making the stupid correlation of a non-violent organization like the NAACP with the KKK, you might remember that a large percentage of the NAACP membership is white and the organization was actually founded by white and black people and has never been associated with a single violent act against any race of people. Even the United States of America cannot make that claim, but we will not disassociate ourselves from it as you suggest.

Anonymous said...

2:22, Madoff is in jail, and he "madoff" with over $64 Billion. If you're gonna bitch, do it right...

Anonymous said...

3:17 to 1:25 That's correct. The Republic of New Africa, Nation of Islam, Peoples Liberation Organization, Marcus Garvey etc. have demanded the same thing 1:25 suggests: Black people should disassociate from racist organizations. They should get out of the United States.

Anonymous said...

2:22 = pissed off (or maybe on) about Costco.

Anonymous said...

3:17 -- http://humanevents.com/2010/08/02/top-10-examples-of-naacp-racism/

Please feel free to negate any of those 10 items listed in this article -- when an organization supports Mumia Abu Jamal, the former Black Panther who murdered a white police officer in 1981, then maybe the organization is like what 2:17 outlined - Allowing another group (sub person as in Mumia) speak for them (not directly violent but certainly no issue in supporting someone who is) ... and maybe that little firebombing by Benjamin Chavis, who became President of the NAACP AFTER he had served time for that VIOLENT racist act meant nothing. I guess including Angela Davis and bringing in the anti-semitic Nation of Islam is just inclusiveness?????

Also -- when attempting to give a reasoned argument -- name calling, denigrating, etc., do not reinforce your position. Just makes you look like an ........... well, I guess we all know!

Anonymous said...

@ 3:43

1:25 never suggested anything but that people not associate a whole race with one organization. NAACP does not speak for the entire black race as Southern Baptist dont speak for every baptist and the Republican Party doesnt speak for all whites.

Believe or not, blacks do have differences of opinions. We are not all the same. We helped build this country, why would we want to leave now?

Anonymous said...

There are dozens if not hundreds of white astroturf and interest groups in this state who operate in a similar manner.

Anonymous said...

4:20 Jesus Christ freely associated and gave comfort to prostitutes and sinners, that does not make him a pimp or a whoremonger. An organization which often has within it's membership persons who do not necessarily conform to it's creed or
the purpose of it's existence do not necessarily make the organization what they are. If that were the case most churches would be dens of evil for they are full of sinners. The NAACP has allowed numerous forums for divergent ideas on the advancement of people of color. Some have been accepted, some not. If you have a program that might help a downtrodden community they look at it. Even if your name is Nation of Islam. Any involving acts of violence were not accepted. When persons like Mumia presented an argument of self-defense or disparate treatment in the justice system the NAACP defended his rights. Not murder. Honors from the NAACP come for efforts to advance the cause of human rights, not for the statements which the organization opposes. True the NAACP is no longer the stalwart organization it once was. Greed and personal agendas have done that. Sometime it does good work, sometime it's embarrassing. But it damn well should never be put in the same trash bin as groups whose only contribution to this society has been division, hatred, pain and death.

Anonymous said...

7:39 -- what about the dead policeman's human rights.....or his family? I would assume Mumia who is quoted as saying he would "kill the motherF__ker" again, in front of 3 people at the hospital.....only had disparate criminal justice treatment because he was arrested for murder. If he hadn't murdered, then maybe he would not have had disparate treatment. He wasn't just arrested in a vacuum - he killed a man. If we extrapolate this out, then Hitler would deserve accolades, because he created jobs in a country that was unemployed (a good deed for the "community"), however aberrant his "statements" which were opposed by most people, were considered, and irregardless of the fact that he killed millions of people with his actions. Can't split the baby and must holistically look at the messenger and his overall message, before elevating him/her based on one life event.

I would suggest that we agree to disagree......I will not put all people affiliated with the NAACP into the basket of deplorables, and you have agreed that the institution can be embarrassing, and not always is the stalwart organization it once was.

Possibly, if people like you stood up and pushed back on people like Mr. Johnson, the organization might gain credibility again. As long as he is protected and elevated, then the institution will continue to be regarded with a negative perception and to be quite honest, not taken seriously by anyone other than those within the organizational bubble who tell each other how important they are, how intelligent they are, how racist we are, what a great support they are to the community.....as they collect salaries in the 6 figures, go to extravagant places (see Paris, in the article) and stand by as black on black crime is raging in Detroit and Chicago. It's kind of like the guy I saw on television once -- his entire job was to lobby for a higher minimum wage.......when asked how much he made.....he refused to answer......then was confronted with his $150k+ salary. The irony is priceless. If you want the organization to be taken seriously then clean house, literally and figuratively, and start with men like Mr. Johnson.

Anonymous said...

NAACP has Johnson. USA has Trump. Maybe that's why neither are taken serious.

Anonymous said...

As long as shallow minds and deep thinkers continue to collide, sites like this will continue to illuminate the futility of ever resolving race issues.

Messick said...

@7:39:

"The NAACP has allowed numerous forums for divergent ideas on the advancement of people of color."

Don't you mean colored people?

Anonymous said...

July 25, 2017 at 10:44 PM = Yawwwwwnnnn, Ssssnnnnoorreeeeee, ZZZZZzzzz

Anonymous said...

There are dozens if not hundreds of white astroturf and interest groups in this state who operate in a similar manner.

Name only ONE dozen.

Anonymous said...

There was a time, years ago, when white folk thought exposing this crap and calling it to their attention and broadcasting it made a difference and would cause shame and a behavioral shift.

No more. Hell, it's a point of pride now. Just like with the OJ Simpson jury or claiming, "My boy wouldn't shoot nobody". Nobody gives a shit. It's all about shady leadership, reparations and Git-Mo.

Anonymous said...

6:01 Enough already. Black people are bloodied and bent after years of abuse and still do not trust white people or the government even if they are now a part of the government. They are not ready to abandon their self-defense mechanisms (NAACP etc.) even if those organizations are become rusty and inefficient. They still believe by and large that whites will turn on them and they had better be ready.
I wonder why. Change that belief and maybe then your "behavioral shift" will happen. Otherwise, move on.

Anonymous said...

NAACP is a self-abuse mechanism.



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