Regarding the Lynching of Raynard Johnson in Kokomo, Mississippi

WHEREAS, Raynard Johnson, a seventeen [17] year old African American male youth of Kokomo, Marion County, Mississippi, was found dead by hanging in the front yard of his home during the summer of 2000; and

WHEREAS, the local District Attorney has made a preliminary finding of suicide; and

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations [FBI] are conducting investigations of the incident; and

WHEREAS, the manner and circumstances surrounding Raynard Johnson's hanging resemble a classic Mississippi lynching scene; and

WHEREAS, anti-lynching and crimes involving deadly force against African Americans were one of the basic tenets of the NAACP's founding; and

WHEREAS, the country is experiencing a resurgence of lynchings and crimes involving deadly force against African American males; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP values all human life and particularly the lives of our youth who are entitled to a future and who are our hope for the future.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the NAACP will renew its commitment to end lynching and crimes involving deadly force against African American including but not limited to establishing a system for prompt response to cases bearing the characteristics of a lynching or crime involving deadly force against African Americans and establishing actual and visible presence in communities where such incidents occur;

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NAACP will renew its anti lynching and crimes involving deadly force against African Americans stance by conducting a national campaign to re-educate the country on the history of lunching and crimes involving deadly force against African Americans in America as well as to educate on what may constitute a modern day lynching; and

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NAACP nationally establishes support for the family of Raynard Johnson and make the investigation and resolution of this case a national priority.