2 Sacramento NAACP executive members reinstated after months-long financial probe
Two Greater Sacramento NAACP members suspended last October amid allegations of financial misdeeds have been cleared of wrongdoing and reinstated by the national headquarters.
Officials reinstated second vice president Velma Sykes and branch member Ken Nelson, according to notification letters obtained by The Sacramento Bee.
In October, Sykes said she was “absolutely blindsided” by the discipline and denied the allegations with a vow to contest her suspension. On Thursday, Sykes said she was pleased to return to her duties at the Greater Sacramento branch.
“I’ve spent many years working on behalf of the NAACP,” Sykes said. “I’m happy I was able to provide the information they requested and get my membership reinstated.”
The national NAACP and Nelson were not immediately available for comment Thursday.
Officials reviewed documentation provided by Sykes and Nelson leading to the suspensions being lifted, according to the reinstatement letters.
Longtime branch president Betty Williams, treasurers Dafna Gauthier and Lorraine Moore and education chair Salena Pryor remain suspended on suspected financial misconduct after NAACP auditors spotted “extensive” findings of potential impropriety in financial reports submitted to national officials in April 2023.
Officials at the national civil rights organization continue their forensic audit into the Sacramento branch. Sacramento County officials have also asked for the branch’s financial records connected to its operation of a pandemic-era meals program.
Williams and Pryor appear to have used their staffing and consulting firms to operate the food program, Dine-In 2, and paid themselves more than $145,000 in county funds earmarked for contractors’ salaries, documents show.
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