Columbus branch of the NAACP now under national control due to infighting

The Columbus branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people has been placed under the control of a national administrator due to infighting.

James Gallman, a national NAACP board member from Aiken, S.C., said the national unit and membership committee appointed him administrator of the Columbus branch during a meeting on Friday. The committee’s decision was ratified Saturday by the full national board.

“I have been appointed as the administrator,” Gallman told the Ledger-Enquirer Thursday in an interview. “Everything that is done at the Columbus branch now, it has to go through me.”

Ed DuBose, a member of the national board who lives in Columbus, said he was there when the decision was ratified, and he confirmed Gallman’s account of events.

Gallman said Tonza Thomas, the local branch president, will still hold her position, but he’s now in charge.

“No checks are to be written, unless I approve them,” he said. “No meetings are to be held unless I approve them.”

The local branch of the NAACP has been mired in controversy for several months even as Thomas ran unsuccessfully for state president.

Some members of the branch’s executive committee have accused Thomas of mishandling funds and disregarding bylaws and procedures. Last year, they filed what’s called an Article X with the national organization in an attempt to have her removed from office.

On Thursday, Gallman, who is a member of the national unit and membership committee, said the Article X came before that committee but fell short of the number of signatures from bona fide members needed to move forward.

In a recent interview with the Ledger-Enquirer Thomas said the Article X was dismissed because there was no finding of malfeasance, but Gallman said a full investigation was never conducted.

“No one is exonerated until it is dealt with and it has not been dealt with because of the required number of signatures,” he said. “The Article X may still be refiled. I do not know if it will or will not be refiled. But my job is to come in and try to turn this unit around and get some cohesiveness between the membership. We want to make sure we are doing things in the proper order.”

On Thursday, Thomas said she is aware of Gallman’s appointment, but it has nothing to do with her ability to run the organization.

“Because of the infighting, he is our administrator so that we will be able to do our jobs in our capacity,” she said.

Thomas disputed Gallman’s statements about Article X, stating that the complaint had been dismissed, and that her name was cleared. She said information will soon be released showing that she’s been vindicated.

DuBose said the national NAACP will send out letters to each member of the local branch next week notifying them of the changes.

Gallman said he will be meeting regularly with members of the local branch to determine what’s really happening and get things back on track.

“And then after a period of time - we haven’t said how long that will be - if I feel that everything is going well and it can be handled by the members of the Columbus branch, then that’s what we’ll do,” he said. “If I think we need to reorganize this unit, then I will - with the approval of the board - schedule an election and elect officers to handle the branch.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2018 at 11:14 AM with the headline "Columbus branch of the NAACP now under national control due to infighting."