Presidents Cheatham and Aston, along with others accussed in Article X complaint
Thirty-eight members of the Baltimore City Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have signed on to an Article X complaint filed against multiple members of the past and current Baltimore Branch administrations.
Leading the effort, a Baltimore Branch Lifetime member and former National Board member Marge Green, who with the assistance and encouragement of current and former branch members, brought forth this complaint alleging that Branch Officers: Marvin ‘Doc’ Cheatham (past Branch President and current Executive Committee member), Tessa Hill-Aston (current Branch President and former 2nd Vice-President), Joseph Aston (former Branch Treasurer and current Executive Committee member), Ellis Leon Staten (former President and current 1st Vice-President), along with Branch Secretary Bette D. Brooks, did willfully and knowingly remove, without authorization, office equipment, cameras, computers and laptops that were property of the Branch.
They were also accused of misappropriating Branch funds from membership applications, Freedom Fund Banquet affairs and other financial events where no official accounting procedure was put in place, nor an audit administered, in the past six years - all under the leadership of the former and current Branch administrators. The charges, which were filed by way of an Article X, Section 3 complaint pursuant to the Constitution and By-Laws of the National NAACP, cover a multitude of Constitutional Article violations, 17 charges in all. Each violation could lead to the removal or suspension of each individual charged, thereby barring them from ever holding any official Branch position in the future – and could also possibly lead to a criminal complaint if found to be guilty of the theft of Branch equipment and/or finances, according to a National spokesperson.
‘The original complaint had well over 100-signatures’, says organizers of the document, yet some members backed off after receiving intimidating phone calls from the National office asking “were they sure they wanted to go forward with this complaint”? Speaking to the charges brought forth by this complaint, NAACP Baltimore Branch member Chris Blake, a frequent critic of the past and current administrations and 2010 Branch Treasurer Candidate said that “If the allegations are true, it would only further add to my documentation of the failed leadership of the Baltimore City Branch NAACP over the past 6 and half years. The prior administration placed a higher priority on politics, socializing and self-aggrandizement, than it did on seriously addressing civil rights concerns with meaningful solutions. The current administration seems to be following suit.”
However, past Branch Presidential Candidate, Cortly C.D. Witherspoon, another member who was burned by the past and current administrators during last year’s highly dramatized branch elections seemed as displeased as Blake by the charges, yet prayerfully hopeful that the historic branch gets beyond these egregious charges. “I am well aware of the complaint and I’m praying for the NAACP, its leadership, and most importantly for its members, because they are the force that makes the branch strong,” says Witherspoon. While both were critical of the past administrations policies and procedures, neither signed onto the Article X complaint, though both feel that the said charges offer a high-level of validity, and wouldn’t be at all surprised if the allegations were found to be true and accurate.
The complainants are calling on the National to investigate complaints such as the lack of treasury reports brought forth and reported over the past six years, as numerous requests were made in reference to the President (Cheatham), along with Branch Treasurer (J. Aston), in making public a detailed account of the amount spent and raised by the Branch on multiple occasions. (Article III, Section 4A; A financial report of all such entertainment, contributions and fundraising activities shall be rendered to the Unit, the National Office and the Public.) It’s been said that numerous complaints have come from members who had paid their membership dues yet never received a membership card or notification of said membership from the Branch. ‘Several large groups of members from individual churches have been victims of this incompetence’, according to the complaint. (Article IV, Membership Section 11; The Unit shall remit to the treasury of the National Association, the National Office’s share of all membership fees within 15-calendar days of their receipt.)
Also called into question are certain practices such as Joe Aston, then the Branch Treasurer, moving his Accounting practice into the Branch headquarters on the 2nd floor and never having to pay rent to the Branch. According to the complaint, Aston, along with his wife who now serves as Branch President, yet then served as the Branch’s Chair of the Freedom Fund Banquet, the Branch’s largest fundraising event, were said to hold unofficial accounting meetings with President Cheatham, outside the confines of the Executive Committee meetings, never offering a consistent financial report by the Ex. Comm. Members, nor getting the proper approval (Committee ratification) by the members to spend Branch finances on certain expenditures. (Article VII; Section 1; The duties of the President shall be: (c) Between meetings of the Executive Committee and the NAACP Unit, to exercise general executive authority on behalf of the NAACP Unit, subject to ratification by the Exec.Comm.)
Also charged in all this is the Secretary, Bette Brooks and her lack of said reporting on certain offenses that took place, yet this complaint contends that she was “intimidated and bullied” by other officers, i.e. President Cheatham and Treasurer Aston. (Article VII, Section 3: The Duties of the Secretary shall be; (g) In conjunction with the President, to sign requisitions for disbursement from the NAACP Unit Treasury and to maintain a file of receipts and disbursements.) Current President and former Freedom Fund Chair, Tessa Hill-Aston, was said ‘to have operated as though she were self-employed and has not been accountable to anyone’ – in over six years. It has been stated that no complete report of said finances for this engagement has been shared with the Executive Committee, without said committee ever having any input into speakers, awards, food, etc. In the addendum to said document, the claim was also made and backed up by submitted Treasurer Report for 2010, as it was stated that the F.F. Banquet took place in October of 2010 yet no mention of said Banquet or the funds spent or received were made mention in the Treasury Report. Also speculated by certain backers of this Article X document, is the recent hiring of the President’s [Hill-Aston] step-son, who has said to have been awarded a contractual position within the Branch without proper approval by the Executive Committee, or even offering an open bidding process for the work.
Complaint Conclusion: The Baltimore City NAACP Branch is, and has been, dysfunctional for several years. There have been only two or three working committees, with no [active] education or membership committees. (Substantiated by past committee reports for the past six years) People have been maneuvered into office(s) without regard to whether or not they could pass the required residence or work rule, which states that any executive committee or branch member must either reside in, or work in, the City of Baltimore. (Example: A member who has served as a committee chair for 6-years, and was nominated by the Treasurer (Joe Aston) and elected to the 2011 Executive Committee, is known to have been residing and working in North Carolina for several years.)
People who objected to such corruption were verbally attacked, bullied and ostracized. Tickets were purchased for social events to enhance the social life of the Treasurer (Joe Aston) and his wife (Tessa Hill-Aston) without the knowledge of the Branch and/or approval of the Executive Committee. An investigation of the financial status of the Branch (External Audit) is long overdue.
Election procedures, checks exceeding $100 and the selection of delegates to the State and National conferences were also raised in this 17-count indictment of said officers. Yet, with past Branch negligence and possible criminal wrong-doing being alleged in other cities and states such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it’s no wonder it took for this type of action to be done in order to get the National Office involved. “I hope that the National Office of the NAACP conducts the level of investigation called for when such charges are officially made, and documented, by a large number of the organization’s members,” said Blake.
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