Columbus NAACP leader loses bid for state conference presidency

Tonza Thomas, president of the Columbus branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, lost her bid for president at the state level.

The election was held Saturday in Macon, Ga., during the conference’s First Quarterly Meeting.

Delegates elected Phyllis Blake, the state interim president, to the top position, making her the first female president of the Georgia NAACP state conference, according to a release issued Monday by the organization.

Blake ascended to the position in July when former State Conference President Francys Johnson resigned. A resident of Atlanta, she served as president of the Fayette County branch of the NAACP before filling the position. On the state level, she has served as Metro Atlanta District Coordinator, Third Vice President and First Vice President.

Under the auspices of the National NAACP Corporate Office, Blake served as the Southeastern Regional 2010 Census Manager and the 2012 Civic Engagement Coordinator.

Thomas, who currently serves as the Georgia NAACP’s state secretary, announced in July that she was running for state president. But over the past few months she has been embroiled in controversy at the local branch, with some local executive committee members publicly criticizing her leadership.

On Dec. 15, Blake, her opponent in the race for president, sent her a letter admonishing her to “cease and desist” from depositing money into a bank account separate to the one managed by the branch Treasurer Erma Everett.

In a previous interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, Thomas called the allegations against her “a blatant lie.” She said a bank account was closed by someone who had no authority to do so, and the organization had another account that she continued to use.

In addition to losing her bid for president, Thomas also lost the state secretary position in Saturday’s election.

The vote “set the stage for the leadership change at the helm of the State Conference,” according to the news release.

Elected new officers include First Vice President James Stocks of Carrolton, Second Vice President Jeriene Grimes of Marietta, Secretary Nancy Dennard of Quitman, Assistant Secretary Delinda Gaskins of Statesboro, Treasurer Theresa Hardy of Decatur and Assistant Treasurer Beulah Teachey of Augusta.

“Under the new leadership team, the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP is prepared to move into 2018 to meet its mission and objectives as it prepares for the 2018 and 2020 elections and 2020 Census campaigns,” leaders wrote in the news release.

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 8:09 AM with the headline "Columbus NAACP leader loses bid for state conference presidency."