The National Teacher Shortage and Unpacking Student Debt Relief
The NAACP Labor Committee is hosting a two-part webinar session on education and the student debt crisis during Labor Week. During the discussion, teachers, labor leaders, education researchers, and parent advocates will highlight the importance of starting the school year right by providing adequate support to teachers and students.
Part One: Prioritizing Black Educators and Students
As we enter the school year, it is important to remember the challenges that teachers face. Despite the many obstacles, teachers continue to work hard every day to educate our children. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major challenge for teachers. They have had to quickly adapt to new methods of teaching, often with little support from policymakers and district leaders. Now, as we fully transition back to in-person learning, they are facing even more challenges with sinister attempts to politicize the teaching profession through anti-CRT legislation. This lack of support can lead to teacher shortages and low morale among educators. We must do more to support our teachers, especially in times of crisis.
The NAACP Labor Committee is hosting a panel discussion on this topic during Labor Week. During the panel, teachers, labor leaders, education researchers and parent advocates will highlight the importance of starting the school year right by providing adequate support to teachers and students.
Derrick Johnson serves as President and CEO of the NAACP, a title he has held since October of 2017. President Johnson formerly served as vice chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors, as well as state president for the Mississippi State Conference NAACP. A longstanding member and leader of the NAACP, Mr. Johnson has helped guide the Association through a period of re-envisioning and reinvigoration.
Under President Johnson's leadership, the NAACP has undertaken such efforts as the 2018 "Log Out" Facebook Campaign, pressuring Facebook after reports of Russian hackers targeting African Americans, the Jamestown to Jamestown Partnership, marking the 400th year enslaved Africans first touched the shores of America, and the 2020 We are Done Dying Campaign, exposing the inequities embedded into the American healthcare system and the country at large.
As the Biden Administration took office in 2021, President Johnson led the charge in calling for a Cabinet-level position focused squarely on advancing our nation's longstanding issue of racial justice. President Biden signed an Executive Order establishing an interagency effort to eliminate systemic racial barriers and ensuring federal policies are rooted in equity, optimizing the well-being of all in public policies.
The height of the NAACP is yet to be seen. It is our opportunity to seize upon our collective energy to make democracy work for our future. There will always be tools and devices, whether it's technology or otherwise that we can leverage and use, but there is no greater tool or device than the collective whole working in unison towards a goal of securing civil rights for our future generations.
President Johnson also continues to be on the frontlines on some of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time, calling out Virginia Governor Ralph Northam for his use of Blackface, condemning the burning of Black churches in Tennessee and Louisiana, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to Attorney General William Barr's nomination, and overseeing the NAACP's vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump at the 110th National Convention in Detroit.
President Johnson elevated the Association's visibility and voice as we called for a national response to the coronavirus pandemic that was informed by existing racial disparities in health care outcomes, access, coverage and services, as well as the disparate impact of COVID-19 on African Americans and other people of color.
Recognizing the critical importance of quality health care, he has long advocated for expanded Medicaid eligibility, affordable health insurance options, and investment in community-based health care infrastructure through a strong network of equitably-located, well-resourced community health centers.
Born in Detroit, Mr. Johnson attended Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS. He then received his JD from the South Texas College of Law in Houston, TX. Mr. Johnson has also furthered his training through fellowships with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the George Washington University School of Political Management, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has served as an annual guest lecturer at Harvard Law School, lending his expertise to Professor Lani Guinier's course on social movements, and as an adjunct professor at Tougaloo College.
Mr. Johnson is a veteran activist who has dedicated his career to defending the rights and improving the lives of Mississippians. As State President of the NAACP Mississippi State Conference, he led critical campaigns for voting rights and equitable education. He successfully managed two bond referendum campaigns in Jackson, MS that brought $150 million in school building improvements and $65 million towards the construction of a new convention center, respectively. As a regional organizer at the Jackson-based non-profit, Southern Echo, Inc., Mr. Johnson provided legal, technical, and training support for communities across the South.
President Johnson is frequently featured on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and many others, advocating on behalf of the Black community and all those who are affected by systemic oppression and prejudice.
Vice President of Governance, Compliance and Training
Ericka Cain
Vice President of Governance, Compliance and Training
Ericka leads and oversees efforts to provide governance while keeping a focus on engagement and growing the base of member leaders, volunteers, and affiliates of the NAACP. Ericka also implements and drives initiatives around compliance support and financial training for units, members, and stakeholders to advance the Association's campaign goals.
Ericka has a deep-rooted background with the Association and has served in many capacities for over 25 years. We are pleased with her commitment to help shape our future success and we look forward to watching Ericka integrate her experience with our mission.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Ericka Cain is a Civil Rights Leader, youth advocate, and Social Justice Activist. Ericka has a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science with a concentration in Criminal Justice, Rehabilitation, Sociology and Community Service from the University of North Texas and a Volunteer Management Certification in Community Service (UNT). She is a proud mother of her son Jaxson.
For over a decade, Ericka has served as State Youth Advisor for the NAACP's Texas Youth & College Division and a member of the State Conference Executive Committee. Ericka was elected as the Vice Chair for the National Youth Work Committee in 2016 and currently serves as the Secretary for the National Youth Work Committee. She has served in several leadership capacities within the association including former University of North Texas NAACP President, Assistant Secretary for the Texas State Conference, Youth & College President, and Financial Freedom Campaign Chair, amongst a host of other noteworthy positions. During her tenure as Advisor she has led the Youth through numerous issue-based and electoral campaigns on the local, state, and national level. She has worked tirelessly to ensure the members of the Youth & College experience mobilizations including the March on Washington 50th Anniversary and 10.2.10 March for Jobs, Quality Education, Economic Development, and Affordable Housing. Ms. Cain established a partnership with the Boys & Girls Club to supply mentors for the State's Mentoring Program. During the early 2000s, she implemented Town Hall Meetings on Texas college campuses to address the N-Word and its connotation in the novel Huckleberry Finn. Ericka effectively engaged members of the Texas NAACP Advisory Committee by ensuring sponsorship of annual Great Debates and African American Knowledge Bowls. Companies including Wal-Mart and Dell supplied IPads, IPods, Laptops, and Gift Cards for teams winning and participating in the competitions.
Ericka has proved that she is committed to developing a New Generation of Civil Rights and Community Leaders. She is the 7 time winner of the NAACP State Youth & College Division Advisor of the Year.
Ericka continues to live by these words… "There's nothing permanent in life except Change!
The former Johnnie Raye McMillian, received her Bachelor's Degree from Fayetteville University and a Masters of Education Degree from the University of Miami. After that she was certified by the State of Florida in areas of: Elementary Education, Educational Leadership, Guidance and Counseling, Social Studies, Mental Retardation, and Specific Learning Disabilities. She retired from the Miami-Dade County Public Schools after a 39 year successful career that took her from the classroom to an Educational/Placement Specialist, ESE; Interim ESE Director, Region IV; Interim Principal, Westview Elementary and Summer Principal, Floral Heights Elementary School. She also served as an Adjunct Professor at Miami-Dade College, Florida Memorial and Nova University. At the Miami Dade County Public School District level, she served as Director, Title I Program and District Director, Alternative Education Programs, where she was directly responsible for Juvenile Justice and Teen Parent Programs. She is the proud mother of three adult children, Ronald, Norman, II and Treska; and the loving grandmother of Amber, Chalice, Khari and Destinee.
Adora Obi Nweze is a devoted member of New Harvest Missionary Baptist Church, Miami, FL; member of Gamma Zeta Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; and serves as the Associate Matron, Angels of Adora Chapter #99, Order of Eastern Star, PHA. Her NAACP affiliation includes being a Diamond Life member of the NAACP; President of the Florida State Conference NAACP, member of the NAACP National Board of Directors; member, NAACP Special Contribution Fund/Board of Trustees. She serves on the following National Board Committees: Chair, ACT-SO Committee; Chair, NAACP Education Committee; member, NAACP Advocacy and Policy; member, NAACP Memberships and Units; member, NAACP Convention Planning; member, NAACP Membership sub-committee; member, Environmental Justice/Climate Control Subcommittee; and member, Gulf Oil Taskforce.
She was appointed in 2010 as a member, National Advisory Council (NAC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and as Chair, Affirmative Action Committee FL Democratic Party. Previously held positions include: Appointed by former Governor Charlie Crist as Special Advisor for Minority Affairs; member, Search Committee for NAACP President/CEO 2007/2008; member, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Advisory Committee which developed a Post Katrina Report. Adora, has served as Chair of the National 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board and was the President for the Miami-Dade Branch (11 years) and the Opa-Locka Branch (2 years); member, Federal Communications Commission, Special Committee on Post Katrina; Coordinator, Disaster Relief and Region V, Coordinator Women In NAACP (WIN) Committee. She spearheaded lawsuits that were filed by the Florida State Conference to include: the One Florida Initiative, the Voting Irregularities of 2000 and Voter Disenfranchisement, the Department of Corrections, School Vouchers, Felony Disenfranchisement, and Affirmative Action. Recently, she has been an out spoken advocate in seeking Justice for the murder of Martin Lee Anderson. Because of her strong belief in community, she has been successful in building NAACP partnerships with the Florida Departments of Education, Health, Corrections, Juvenile Justice, the Florida Bureau of Elderly Affairs, and the Florida Division of Emergency Management. She has implemented strategies and activities with the Department of Health/HIV/AIDS Division to bring about an awareness of the impact that HIV/AIDS has on the Black and Minority Communities throughout the State of Florida.
Adora has been on the forefront for many initiatives to include but not limited to: Successful fundraising efforts at the local, state, region and national levels; organized successful NAACP memberships Drives yielding hundreds of new regular and Life Members; Daisy Bates Education Summit; ACTSO Competitions; Criminal/Juvenile Justice, Religious Affairs, Health, Education, Environmental Justice, Legal Redress, Telecommunications, Economic Development, Veteran Affairs Activities. Adora is also an advocate for youth and increasing young adult participation in the NAACP. She has organized meetings that have resulted in increasing young adult participation with Branch, Youth Council and College Chapters throughout and raised financial support for youth involvement to attend State Conferences, Regional and National Conventions. Also, she organized a State Young Adult Committee.
Adora's community service is legendary. She is a much sought after speaker for workshops and conferences at the local, state, and national levels. In addition, she continues to be an inspiration and role model for those aspiring to be community leaders in the future. She is known as a challenger, motivator and orator, through her demonstration as President of the Florida State Conference NAACP. President Nweze believes that we must proactively seek to eradicate voter apathy in our communities through the dutiful and diligent dissemination of information affecting every aspect of our community. Education, Healthcare, Unemployment, Criminal and Juvenile Justice, as well as Housing are a few of the issues negatively impacting our communities daily that are addressed under her leadership.
The awards and recognitions from the local community as well as from the NAACP have been numerous. Listed below are a few of the recognitions:
Kelly M. Alexander Sr. State Conference President's Award
Dr. Benjamin Lawson Hooks, Keeper of the Flame Award
Civil Rights Award, Florida Conference on Civil Rights
Rutledge H. Pearson Leadership Award, Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches
Adora Obi Nweze, Intergenerational Award, Youth and College Division, Florida State Conference
Presidents Award, Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches
Ida B. Wells Risk Taker Award, National Alliance of Black School Educators Sojourner Truth Award, Miami Chapter, National Association of Negro
Business and Professional Women
W.E.B. Dubois International Award, NAACP Regional Conference
Medgar Wiley Evers Award, Region V NAACP
Adams/Powell Civil Rights Award, Miami-Dade Branch NAACP
Pioneer Award, Florida Democratic Black Caucas
Humanitarian Award, Top Ladies of Distinction
WMBM AM 1490 Community Service Award (Award is now named the Adora Obi Nweze Award for Community Service)
Florida Education Association (FEA) President's Award
Education Award, Imperial Court Daughters of Isis
Outstanding Community Service, Gamma Zeta Omega Wish Foundation
University of Miami/Minority Organ Tissue and Transplantation (MOTTEP) Outstanding Leadership Award
March on Tallahassee/Coalition of Conscience, Leadership Award
Part Two: 50k and Beyond: Unpacking Student Debt Relief
The student debt crisis continues to have a disproportionate impact on Black borrowers and their families. Across all racial groups in the United States, Black borrowers hold the most student loan debt despite also being consistently underserved by postsecondary institutions. Due, in large part, to the push from the NAACP, on August 24, 2022, the Biden administration canceled up to $20,000 in federal student debt for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for other borrowers making less than $125,000 per year.
Join us as we unpack what this first step in student debt relief means for our communities and the path forward to ensure equitable relief for the millions of borrowers who are caught in the student debt crisis.
Wisdom O. Cole is the National Director of the NAACP Youth & College Division. In this role, he serves more than 700 youth councils, high school chapters, and college chapters actively involved in the fight for civil rights. Wisdom brings extensive experience in civil rights advocacy training institute, electoral action training, grassroots organizing, issues toolkits, and webinars at the local, state, and national level. He has managed national campaign efforts focused on building Black political power through youth leadership development, advocacy, and direct action organizing for the past 5 years with the NAACP, formerly as the National Campaigns & Training Manager.
In his time at the NAACP, he has worked on campaigns around the cancelation of student debt, removing police from schools, as well as increasing voter access for young Black people. He has been featured on Politico, NPR, VICE, NBC Washington News, Brooking Institute, and The Economist as an advocate for Black youth voter turnout through issue-based campaign organizing. In 2023, he was recognized in Politico's Recast Power List 2023, honoringthose who are changing the world through race and politics.
Wisdom was previously a field and state conference organizer for the Afrikan Black Coalition (ABC), the largest Black collegiate organization in California. In 2014, he collaboratively organized the Afrikan Black Coalition conference that featured keynote speakers such as Marc Lamont Hill, Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, and Attallah Shabazz. For this effort, he received the Chancellor's Achievement Award for Diversity in recognition for outstanding contributions to furthering diversity, inclusion, and excellence at UC Santa Cruz.
Wisdom grew up in California where he earned a B. A. in Chemistry, with a minor in STEM Education, from UC Santa Cruz as well as a M. A. in Teaching from the University of San Francisco.
The 2nd Annual NAACP Labor Action Week will bring together union leaders, civil rights change-makers, young professionals, and activists to provide an advocacy framework and solutions for addressing and prioritizing the needs and interests of Black America, while also addressing long-standing issues around the racial wealth gap and systemic racism throughout the nation's employment industries.
This year's theme - The State of Black Labor: Wealth, Wellness, and Worth will be an opportunity to promote wealth equity, ensure wellbeing, and recognize the value of Black workers throughout the nation.
