Andrea M. Baldrias
Contributor

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP) Riverside Branch 1059 celebrated the installation of the organization’s new executive officers on Monday evening, December 17th.  

The NAACP’s mission is to advocate for political, education, social, and economic equality of rights for all citizens, as well as eradicate racial injustice. The Riverside Branch 1059 has been fulfilling this mission for the local community for 77 years.  

The new executives were sworn in by the Honorable Irma Poole Asberry of the Superior Court, County of Riverside. Each officer was sworn in via the official NAACP oath. 

The officers sworn-in included: Dr. Regina Patton Stell (President), Sharron Lewis-Campbell (1st Vice President), Natasha Ferguson (2nd Vice President), Mary Welch (3rd Vice President), Nina Moore-Halliburton (Secretary), Colleen Hairston (Assistant Secretary), Charles Walker (Treasurer), and Maudie Wilson (Assistant Treasurer). Members At-Large include: Monrow Mabon, Jalani Bakari, Evie Stell, Terrance Major, Johnnie Corina III, and Madelyn Millen. 

In her opening statement, Dr. Regina Patton Stell promised, “We are going to make a greater imprint. We have been talking about how we want to be more inclusive. … We are going to try to engage as many people that want to go forward with this branch as we can. I am talking about being more inclusive and more open. I assure you everything we need is in the house. We have within us, a power that can surely conquer any obstacles.” 

The organization is currently advancing initiatives like their Economic Sustainability taskforce, Education partnerships, Toy Give-Aways, Youth College partnerships, and many other community-centered projects. They are working to bring more transparency and integrity to the organization by providing public access to the budget. 

Dr. Regina Patton Stell highlighted, “There is little doubt that, under our predecessor, the Riverside branch did great things. My vision is that we will continue in the same vein and in the same direction. I think the only difference will be that I want to embrace and enlarge the number of people that make the vision work. There are so many challenges politically, regionally, and nationally that I feel the job is huge, but it’s doable. We have many people in this community with talents that we have not tapped into…It’s really a Riverside County branch” she explained. “I think having 32 years under the Riverside County Office of Education, I have a good idea of how to reach out to the county to grow and lead the team to do this. I am a team builder and I’m a connector, so that’s what I’m going to do…I’m excited.”

The organization is looking for a larger venue to accommodate their expanding membership. Until then, they will continue to meet at the Bordwell Park/ Stratton Center at 2008 Martin Luther King Blvd., Riverside at 6:00 p.m., every third Monday of the month. For more information, visit https://www.naacp-riverside.org/.