Haley suspended by NAACP
Calling immigrants 'savages' and rapists creates uproar
Haley’s comments, made during an online monthly video call with NAACP leaders throughout Illinois, drew criticism from Gov. JB Pritzker, state and local groups advocating on behalf of immigrants and a call for her resignation from a former suburban Chicago NAACP leader.
Haley, who received the "activist of the year" award at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards, issued a written apology in a Dec. 14 news release from the Illinois NAACP.
The news release also said NAACP branch presidents from throughout Illinois met Dec. 13 and “unanimously supported Haley’s quintessential leadership skills.”
But the national NAACP, based in Baltimore, said in a statement Dec. 15 that it suspended Haley Dec. 13.
It’s unclear whether national NAACP officials had communicated with Illinois branch presidents before the Illinois NAACP meeting. Champaign’s NAACP branch president, Minnie Pearson, told Illinois Times on Dec. 15 that the suspension was a surprise to her. She declined further comment.
Haley initially scheduled a news conference Dec. 16 in Springfield, where she is president of the Springfield NAACP branch, but an emailed statement to the news media said the news conference was canceled “in accordance with the recent request from the national NAACP office. Ms. Haley stands by her heartfelt apology and will not provide any further comments at this juncture.”
The Dec. 15 statement from the national NAACP, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, said the nonprofit “stands firm in our commitment to advancing racial justice and cultivating a society where human dignity is respected.”
The NAACP didn’t respond to requests for more information or clarification, didn’t say how long the suspension will last, whether the group will consider permanently removing Haley as statewide president or whether the suspension also applies to Haley’s position as president of the Springfield NAACP branch.
“As an internal matter, there will be no additional comment at this time,” the statement said, adding, “The NAACP will continue to foster an environment that is reflective of our mission and respective of our membership.”
Haley, 58, a retired state employee who was elected to her first two-year term as president of the Illinois NAACP in 2015, hasn’t responded to Illinois Times’ requests for an interview.
Television station ABC7 Chicago reported that Haley told one of its reporters in early December, in a phone call while she was on vacation in Dubai, that she didn’t make the comments and that the video was fake and was created with artificial intelligence.
"With AI, anything is possible," Haley told the Chicago reporter.
Then, in the Dec. 14 Illinois State Conference news release, Haley reversed course without explanation.
“First and foremost,” she said, “I express my sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or offended by my comments. I love and value all members of our communities – including immigrants. I have worked tirelessly to advocate for the underserved and the voiceless. I remain focused on denouncing injustices, racism and discrimination.
“I am empathetic to the plight of all people, and I proudly serve as a beacon of hope to the hopeless. I embrace the mission of the NAACP, which is to ‘Achieve equity, political rights and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination and accelerate the well-being, education and economic security of Black people and all persons of color.”
Elbert Betts, 82, a retired principal of Southeast High School who is a member of the Springfield NAACP’s executive committee, said Haley “has my support 100%.”
Regarding Haley’s comments on the video, Betts said, “I don’t think she was lashing out at anybody.”
Betts said he doesn’t think Haley’s critics misinterpreted her comments. He said he hopes the national NAACP “gives her due process” before making any final decision about her status.
Patrick Watson, 40, a small business owner in the Chicago suburb of Lisle, said he recorded the October statements by Haley when he was president of the NAACP’s DuPage County branch. The branch also covers the counties of Kane, Kendall and Will, and part of northwest suburban Cook County.
Watson told Illinois Times he had complained to the national NAACP for months about what he called Haley’s disregard for NAACP bylaws on acceptable business practices.
“She tends to create her own facts and creates her own reality,” he said.
Watson also said Haley has engaged in “hate speech against the LGBTQ community.”
He said Haley, in a November monthly video meeting with Illinois NAACP officials, questioned national NAACP officials’ use of “they” and “them” pronouns preferred by certain staff members. According to Watson, Haley said, “What the hell is that?”
Watson said he resigned from his post on Dec. 12 in protest of Haley’s conduct and requested her resignation. That same day, he notified the media about Haley’s October comments and provided an approximately two-minute section of a recording of the two-hour-long video meeting.
“I could no longer be a part of the organization,” he said. “Hate has no home in the organization.”
Watson said he also notified the national NAACP and the media because Haley is campaigning to be named to the NAACP’s national board of directors in an internal election taking place in December and culminating at the end of the month.
In the video clip, Haley talked about immigrants who have been bused to Chicago and other Northern cities from the U.S. border with Mexico.
Apparently in response to comments made by other people on the call, Haley said Peoria, Springfield and other cities should prepare for immigrants wanting services and noted that cities are being more eager and generous about finding immigrants safe housing than they have in serving low-income Black people.
“But Black people have been on the streets for ever and ever, and nobody cares because they say that we’re drug addicts, we’ve got mental health issues. But these immigrants who come over here, they’ve been raping people, they’ve been breaking into homes, they’re like savages as well. They don’t speak the language, and they look at us like we were crazy because we were the only people in America who were brought over here against our wills and were slaves, sold into slavery.
“But everybody else who comes over here? We’re so kind, we’re so friendly. You need some clothes, you need a place to stay? We’re gonna make it happen. So brother, I feel your pain. I’m right there with you. I’m trying not to be a (N-word), but you know I’m pro-Black.”
Pritzker called Haley’s comments on the video “reprehensible” and told the news media he hoped she would apologize.
The governor said “people should recognize that immigrants in this country are all around us” and “virtually all of us came here from somewhere else. So remarks like that are commentary on our entire society.”
Pritzker’s press office didn’t respond when asked what the Democratic governor thought about Haley’s apology.
Watson said he doubted the sincerity of Haley’s apology because she directed it to “anyone who may have been hurt or offended.”
Watson called the national NAACP’s suspension of Haley “a great first step to begin the healing of the community to show there’s no hate in the organization.”
The Dec. 14 statement from the Illinois NAACP said Watson received “an unprecedented and embarrassing ‘vote of no confidence’ by his branch members on Nov. 14.”
But Watson said such votes are not provided for in NAACP bylaws. He said the alleged vote apparently was conducted by a handful of people supporting Haley and didn’t represent a majority of branch members.
Veronica Espina, founder and president of the Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network, didn’t comment on Haley’s apology or suspension but said she was “sad and upset” after hearing Haley’s taped comments.
“It’s not just disappointing. It’s hurtful,” Espina said.
“The NAACP has a history of supporting immigrants and refugees in this country,” she said, adding that low-income Black people and immigrants often live in the same neighborhoods and share the same concerns and challenges.
“We need to stop using the lens of ‘them vs. us,’” Espina said, adding that those who oppress marginalized groups benefit when those groups criticize each other.
“They divide and conquer,” Espina said. “It’s a way of thinking we need to reject. There are resources out there.”
A joint statement from the network and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said the groups rejected Haley’s comments on the video:
“Divisive rhetoric damages communities. It reinforced harmful stereotypes, which, in turn, hurt entire groups of people. Apologies must include strategies to begin dialogue, deliberate actions to repair relationships and commitment to share accurate information.”
Dean Olsen is a senior staff writer at Illinois Times. He can be reached at dolsen@illinoistimes.com, 217-679-7810 or twitter.com/DeanOlsenIT.
https://www.illinoistimes.com/news-opinion/haley-suspended-by-naacp-17819921
