N.A.A.C.P. Providence Branch
The Nation's OLDEST Civil Rights Organization
P.O. Box 5767, Providence, RI 02903 | (401) 521-6222
Our Mission
To ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.
Donate to the NAACP
CLICK HERE to make your donation to the NAACP Providence BranchWhat To Do When Stopped By The Police
It is important that you understand how to handle police interactions. CLICK HERE to read more.Coming Events
Friday, 10/29/2010 · 2010 Freedom Fund Dinner-One Nation, One Dream
YOU are invited to join
The shadow of a mighty Negro past flits through the tale of Ethiopia the shadowy and of the Egypt the Sphinx. Throughout history, the powers of single blacks flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness.
1957 - Tennis champion, Althea Gibson, becomes the first Black athelete to win a US national tennis championship
W.E.B. Dubois
Today In Black History
On 9/8:1957 - Tennis champion, Althea Gibson, becomes the first Black athelete to win a US national tennis championship
PROVIDENCE NAACP FILES EEOC CHARGE ALLEGING CRANSTON, R.I. FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS DISCRIMINATE AGAINST MINORITIES AND WOMEN
Released on: Wednesday, 09/20/2006
September 20, 2006. Today, the NAACP, Providence Branch filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the city of Cranston, Rhode Island, for the citys failure to hire minority and female firefighters and police officers.
The complaint alleges that the Cranston Fire and Police Departments have engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination resulting in women and minorities being severely under-represented in both Departments. Although the Providence metropolitan area, which includes the city of Cranston, has a minority population of over 50%, the Police Department employs few minority and female officers, and nearly all of the citys firefighters are white males.
This has been a long-standing problem, said Clifford Montiero of the NAACP, Providence Branch. The workforce of the Cranston Fire and Police Departments do not reflect the diversity of the community.
The citys selection process disproportionately screens out qualified minorities and women. The city relies on questionable eligibility criteria, including physical and written tests that have not been validated in accordance with EEOC Guidelines and with passing scores that vary depending on the number of anticipated vacancies. Furthermore, the Fire Department required candidates to pay the nearly $1,000 cost of obtaining an Emergency Medical Technician certification just to be considered for employment.
To the citys credit, the Mayor and other city officials have recognized the problem and are interested in making changes to the hiring process and increasing the numbers of minorities and women in the Cranston Police and Fire Departments. The city has indicated a willingness to work with the NAACP to resolve this complaint as soon as possible.
We are pleased that the city recognizes there is a problem and is willing to sit down with us to resolve it, said Clifford Montiero. We are very hopeful that there will soon be increased opportunities for minorities and women to become firefighters and police officers in Cranston.
The NAACP, Providence Branch is represented in the case by the National and Boston offices of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The Lawyers' Committee is a forty-year-old nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination. Attorneys Nadine Cohen of the Boston Lawyers Committee and Sarah Crawford of the National Lawyers Committee are representing the NAACP, Providence Branch in cooperation with National Office of the NAACP.