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President of San Diego NAACP chapter suspended by national board

Clovis Honoré, who was elected president of the San Diego chapter of the NAACP in 2018, has been suspended by the national board of the civil rights organization for unspecified conduct.
(Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Decision removing Clovis Honoré comes amid dispute over charter school resolution

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The national board of the NAACP recently suspended the San Diego chapter president for three years, saying in a letter his conduct was contrary to the best interests of the storied civil rights organization.

Clovis Honoré, who has served as head of the local branch since 2018, was dismissed “after it was determined that your activities, behavior and conduct were detrimental and inimical to the NAACP,” a field director wrote to the former leader.

The one-page letter dated Feb. 28 does not specify what Honoré is accused of doing to undermine the historic organization that last year marked its 110-year anniversary.

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Honoré disputed the penalty, which was initially imposed last fall. He requested and received a hearing before a panel of national board members but directors upheld the suspension order, which will be in effect until September 2022.

“If they have a reason to kick me out, all they have to do is say what it is, so the San Diego community I serve can know why,” Honoré said. “The NAACP owes San Diego at least that. All they’ve done so far is say I broke the rules, but they won’t say how.”

The Washington D.C. office of the NAACP did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Honoré is a longtime community activist who began volunteering with the local NAACP branch four years ago and was quickly elected to the position of 1st vice president. In November 2018 he was voted by the general membership to the chapter presidency.

While the NAACP declined to address what led to the suspension, Honoré said he bumped into trouble with state NAACP officials last year over the California group’s policy position on charter schools.

The San Diego branch passed a resolution opposing the national NAACP’s call for a moratorium on expanding the number of charter schools, which are public schools that often operate independently of elected school boards and don’t have to follow many of the rules and requirements imposed on public schools.

Among other reforms, the national resolution requested more transparency in charter schools and regulations preventing school administrators from expelling lower-performing students.

The resolution was controversial from the outset because many families, including African American families, embrace charter schools as a viable alternative to neighborhood public schools that have traditionally performed poorly.

State NAACP officials supported the moratorium proposed by the national organization and urged Honoré and other San Diego chapter leaders to withdraw the resolution.

In May, after several national news organizations published stories about the dispute, California conference President Alice Huffman wrote the national president and CEO, objecting to the San Diego resolution and those of two other branches.

“The information provided to the media was incorrect and inimical to the interests of the NAACP because it incorrectly made it appear that branches can take separate policy positions, which they cannot,” Huffman wrote. “This behavior is reprehensible and cannot be tolerated.”

Honoré said he knows of no rule stating that individual NAACP branches cannot submit resolutions to the national board for consideration.

The San Diego NAACP chapter, which celebrated its centennial anniversary last year, works to promote fair housing and employment, voter registration and equality in health and economic opportunities, among other priorities.

Francine Maxwell, who has assumed the presidency as a result of Honoré’s suspension, said in a statement the local chapter is adjusting to the change in leadership.

“We believe strongly in team-based leadership and being prepared for leadership changes, and are moving forward with energy and passion,” she said.

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