January 15, 1998 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has ousted Hazel Dukes as a trustee.
In October, Ms. Dukes pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted grand larceny for stealing about $13,000 from a leukemia-stricken associate. She was asked to resign from the board in November, along with three other trustees accused of financial malfeasance. After Ms. Dukes declined to step aside, the board voted last month to force her dismissal. She remains president of the N.A.A.C.P.’s New York state conference.
“It was a very difficult vote for me and for a lot of people on the board of directors, because Hazel Dukes is a friend,” said Joe Madison, a board member and radio-show host in Washington, who had threatened to quit if Ms. Dukes was not removed. “But we had to put the integrity of the board and of our association before our personal relationships.”
In November, another trustee, Henry Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention USA, who has been under investigation for mishandling church funds, voluntarily left the board. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The two other board members accused of misdeeds have so far refused to step down. James Ghee of Virginia pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of embezzlement, and Bobby Bivens of California has been arrested and accused of failing to pay child support.
Said Mr. Madison: “The board is going to have to examine those individuals next.”
The problems for the N.A.A.C.P. come as the organization attempts to recover from past financial improprieties. In 1994, Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., stepped down as executive director of the organization after he used charity funds to settle a sexual-harassment suit against him. Upon Mr. Chavis’s departure, it was revealed that the N.A.A.C.P. had incurred almost $5-million in debts.
