New NAACP head says family history points to fight for equality
Lisa Whitfield-Villanueva says fighting for social justice is in her blood.
As she was sworn in on Sunday as the new branch president for the Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP, Whitfield-Villanueva said she will channel the spirit of her grandfather, Owen Whitfield, who led the Missouri sharecropper protest in 1939 to call attention to the abject poverty of black and white tenant farmers.
Whitfield-Villanueva may not be facing the same odds put before her grandfather, but in looking toward the future on Sunday she described a litany of problems facing minorities in Colorado Springs and around the nation – among them what she called disproportionate incarceration of blacks and racially-biased policing.
But she is also taking the helm after a time of turmoil for the Colorado Springs NAACP branch: In 2015, a bomb exploded outside the NAACP offices on El Paso Street; that spring, political infighting shut down all branch activities for weeks. Eventually, former branch president Henry Allen Jr. was dismissed following a controversial election in early November.
Whitfield-Villanueva was declared president after the election results that put her in office were contested by Allen and then affirmed by the NAACP national office. And with that, she wants to put the past behind her.
“I appreciate the work that Henry Allen has done,” said Whitfield-Villanueva, after she and six other new officers were sworn in at the Trinity Baptist Church on East Fountain Boulevard.
“I really don’t want to talk about (the past). I want to focus on the future,” she added.
The future will be a continued fight to gain ground on social justice causes, Whitfield-Villanueva told the church’s congregation. Her general goals – improving the educational opportunities for minorities and ending racial segregation – echoed the a national mission.
“I would like to thank you for your trust in my leadership,” Whitfield-Villanueva told the congregation.
Sunday’s swearing-in ceremony also gave the local NAACP branch a chance to honor its heritage.
The organization was founded in February 107 years ago.
Whitfield-Villanueva, who has lived in Colorado Springs for 17 years, is a teacher by background and is a former El Paso County employee. She has been a member of the NAACP for four years, she said.
After the Sunday service, Whitfield-Villanueva, surrounded by a group of women and children, made her way to the back of the church for refreshments. The women hugged and congratulated Whitfield-Villanueva, who the women said was their instructor in a work-training class at Goodwill. Whitfield-Villanueva rounded them all up and headed to cut the cake.
“Let’s go eat cake,” she said.
Lisa Whitfield-Villanueva was installed as the new Branch President of the N.A.A.C.P. in Colorado Springs on Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Trinity Missionary Baptist Church. Whitfield-Villanueva cuts a cake during a celebration after the installation. (photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette)
Founders’ Day celebration cakes (photo by Jerilee Bennett)
June Brown (center) sings during a Founders Day celebration of the local N.A.A.C.P. on Sunday, February 28, 2016. (photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette)
A young budding drummer at the Founder’s Day celebration at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday, February 28, 2016. (photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette)
Founders Day Celebration of the Colorado Springs N.A.A.C.P. at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday, February 28, 2016. (photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette)
Founders Day celebration cakes (photo by Jerilee Bennett)
Lisa Whitfield-Villanueva was installed as the new Branch President of the N.A.A.C.P. in Colorado Springs on Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Trinity Missionary Baptist Church. Khrystiana Maldonado (left), a student of Whitfield-Villanueva, gives a hug to her teacher. Whitfield-Villanueva teaches a class at Goodwill to help young adults find work . (photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette)
Lisa Whitfield-Villanueva was installed as the new Branch President of the N.A.A.C.P. in Colorado Springs on Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Trinity Missionary Baptist Church. Jim Mason (left), a director for School District 11 Board of Education, congratulates Whitfield-Villanueva after the installation. (photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette)
Lisa Whitfield-Villanueva was installed as the new Branch President of the N.A.A.C.P. in Colorado Springs on Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Trinity Missionary Baptist Church. Whitfield-Villanueva (far right) takes the other of office with other local officers. (photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette)
Lisa Whitfield-Villanueva was installed as the new Branch President of the N.A.A.C.P. in Colorado Springs on Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Trinity Missionary Baptist Church. Khrystiana Maldonado (left), a student of Whitfield-Villanueva, gives a hug to her teacher. Whitfield-Villanueva teaches a class at Goodwill to help young adults find work . (photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette)