Council President Scott Responds to Announcement to Move NAACP Headquarters from Baltimore

Council President Scott Responds to Announcement to Move NAACP Headquarters from Baltimore

With a seasoned history in Baltimore, Scott hopes the Association will reconsider move to D.C.

BALTIMORE, MD (June 30, 2020) -- Baltimore City Council President Brandon M. Scott released the following statement regarding the NAACP’s decision to move its headquarters from Baltimore to Washington, DC:

I am disappointed to hear that the NAACP is moving their national headquarters from Baltimore to Washington, DC. 

The NAACP’s history runs deep in Baltimore. Since 1986, the Association has grown and fought for civil rights for Black people during some of the most turbulent times this country has seen over the last 30 years. 

Baltimore has cultivated some of the most influential civil rights leaders in American history. From Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court Justice, Juanita Jackson Mitchell, the first Black woman to practice law in the State of Maryland, to Parren Mitchell, Maryland’s first Black Congressman, this city has been on the front lines in the fight for justice and equality for people of color for generations.

The NAACP’s two most recent past presidents also come from Baltimore: Ben Jealous and Congressman Kweisi Mfume. 

The symbolism of the Association headquartered in a city of the south that tore families apart during slavery, but later became a place of emanicipation and hope for so many is incomparable. Baltimore has always been and continues to be a city on the frontlines of civil rights. It is my hope that we do not run away from our history, but continue to build upon it.

We are in the midst of the largest civil rights call-to-action that our country has seen in a generation. Baltimore and the NAACP alike are integral pieces of Black history that should remain together and continue to break down barriers, cultivate the impossible, and represent justice, equality, and equity for all. 

I have reached out to President and CEO Derrick Johnson about this announcement. I look forward to speaking with him and continuing to work together for people of color in Baltimore and across the country.