The president of the DeKalb County branch of the NAACP has been suspended by the state NAACP organization for unspecified reasons, according to a notice emailed to members of the civil rights group this week.
Teresa Hardy had served as the President of NAACP DeKalb since July 2016, when she replaced John Evans. Lance Hammonds, a vice president of the branch since 2011 who has served as its education chair, is the new branch president.
"I want to thank President Teresa Hardy for the hard work and dedication to our branch and the DeKalb County community," Hammonds said in the mailing.
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| Lance Hammonds |
The NAACP DeKalb web site makes no mention of the suspension, but one page on the site now lists Hammonds as president. Another page still lists Hardy as president.
On Common Ground reports that Hardy, who is the treasurer for the state organization's executive committee, is appealing her suspension.
"There is nothing that gives me any indication that it is criminal," national NAACP board member Edward Dubose of Columbus, told OCGNews.com.
Hardy led the NAACP branch's recent three-year Remembrance Project to erect markers in DeKalb County recognizing lynchings that occurred as recently as the 1940s.
Hammonds, who grew up in the housing projects of South Central Los Angeles after the 1965 Watts riots, is a 38-year resident of DeKalb County. He is also the chairman of the Rockbridge Coalition of communities and is a member of the DeKalb County Charter Review Commission.
"The mission of the NAACP DeKalb County Branch will continue until racial hatred and discrimination has been eliminated," Hammonds said in the email to members.
