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A line of communication was established Saturday between the Terrebonne Parish NAACP and federal officials at the NAACP office on Park Avenue in Houma.
After a brief 11 a.m. photo session, members of the media were asked to leave when Terrebonne Parish NAACP President Jerome Boykin said it would be an invitation only private meeting with no official action taken.
Boykin was host to 25 area ministers and civil rights supporters, as well as U.S. Attorney Jim Letten and FBI Special Agent David Welker.
“I requested the meeting with the U.S. attorney and Mr. Welker,” Boykin said Saturday evening. “We did not address any specific situation, but we talked about police shootings, racial profiling and corruption in general. Based on things that have happened in the past, we felt we should establish a relationship with federal agents in case there are problems in our community.”
The area NAACP leader said the meeting was specifically intended to inform black community leaders of the appropriate channels to take if acts of discrimination or rights violations were suspected.
“I’ve had interaction with members [in Houma] previously,” Letten said. “The folks had a lot of good questions and interaction. All the questions that were posed about legal issues and everything from how we operate to interactive communications were very good.”
Letten said that he has made an effort to meet with NAACP branches around the state. “This is not unusual,” he said. “My feeling is, we truly work for every person in the communities we serve, and we have a duty to be responsive to the individual citizens we work for and the agencies that represent those citizens. If we don’t talk to them and they don’t understand us, they don’t be able to trust us. If they don’t get to know us conversely we don’t get to protect them like we want to. I work with a lot of different citizen groups, and they are so much more willing to call us when they know us.”
During its 103-year history, the NAACP has been instrumental in getting government to address inequities, violence toward minorities, education and equal opportunities in employment and housing.
Regional NAACP members have most recently soldiered efforts to secure a minority judgeship in the Terrebonne 32nd Judicial District Court.
Boykin noted that the NAACP is making a concerted effort to build relationships to help ensure just and equal treatment opportunities for all citizens. “I’m glad these guys took the time out to meet with us about our community,” Boykin said. “This is the beginning of a working relationship.”
Opening lines of communication was the agenda Saturday for members of the Terrebonne Parish NAACP and federal officials.
