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Gravely still in at state NAACP

Jeremy M. Lazarus | 7/1/2016, 6:23 a.m.
Jack Gravely is still the interim executive director of the 16,000-member Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. “I am not ...

Jack Gravely is still the interim executive director of the 16,000-member Virginia State Conference of the NAACP.

“I am not planning to resign this week,” Mr. Gravely said Monday, denying a Free Press report published in the June 23-25 edition in which a source indicated Mr. Gravely was poised to depart.

As the only full-time staff member in the NAACP state office, Mr. Gravely, who also hosts a daily news talk show on WLEE 990 AM, said he could walk out at any point or be fired at any point.

So far, the state NAACP executive board has not asked Mr. Gravely to resign. His contract has expired, but he said he continues to be paid the same salary and be treated as if the contract is still in force.

In an interview at the NAACP North Side office, he acknowledged “that I have contemplated resigning.”

He said that that he and NAACP state President Linda Thomas of Caroline County, have different views on how much control the state board should exercise over his activities and how much he needs to communicate with the board. The disagreement essentially is over who is in charge.

Now in his second stint in the state organization’s top administrative post, Mr. Gravely said he believes the president and executive board should allow him to operate with a free hand rather than insisting on closely monitoring his activities.

“If you hire a director, the board should give the person marching orders and then leave him or her alone to carry them out. If he or she doesn’t do the job, then you fire that person,” he said. “Otherwise you let that person run the office.”

Mr. Gravely said the executive post is a “dynamic position” that must deal with new challenges and issues daily and weekly that require flexibility.

The disagreement on operations could be seen at the news conference Ms. Thomas held Monday to announce the state NAACP had filed a legal brief, with assistance from the Southern Coalition for Social Justice of Durham, N.C., supporting Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s restoration of voting rights for Virginia’s felons.

Ms. Thomas led the news conference outside of the Baptist General Convention of Virginia building where the state NAACP rents office space. Mr. Gravely, who arrived after the discussion began, did not join the event, but instead walked into the building.

He said later during the interview that he was notified of the news conference two days earlier, had no role in organizing it and had recommended that it be postponed as it would largely be ignored given the media attention and focus on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision throwing out the corruption convictions of former Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Ms. Thomas said she went ahead with the news conference because Monday was the day the legal brief was filed.