LONGMONT, Colo. — In an email sent over the weekend, leaders with Boulder County's chapter of the NAACP said they've chosen to "dissolve" the chapter, citing "persistent retaliation from the City of Boulder."
The announcement comes after months of infighting between the NAACP's Boulder County chapter and City of Boulder leaders.
"This all started because of our objection to the hiring of the new police chief," said Annett James, the now-former president of the NAACP Boulder County chapter.
James cited three main reasons she and other leaders with the chapter felt all they could do was dissolve the chapter.
"Why is the City of Boulder so invested in this person as the chief of police? They did a nationwide search only to get where they started to end, where they started?" she said. "The other question has been, why is it that the city felt so powerful that they could actually reach out to an organization, a national organization, to campaign complain about a unit in their town?
"The third question is one that we're still trying to answer: why would a national civil rights organization in any way give credence to complaints from a city government for the reasons that we've just stated? So these are the things that the intellectuals of Boulder want to know, and rightfully so."
Boulder
New Boulder PD chief has connections to McClain case, Aurora Theater shooting
James said Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn's connection to the Elijah McClain case ultimately bothered NAACP Boulder County chapter leaders.
In an email sent to NAACP Boulder County chapter members, leaders said, "The city manager, police leaders, and associated governmental entities have actively sought to suppress and undermine our efforts toward racial equity. These tactics, well-known for their authoritarian and racist nature, have included division, co-opting, isolation, spreading false rumors, character assassination, and threats of legal action," adding they believe "the aim has been clear: to remove the leadership of NAACP Boulder and reshape our Branch into a powerless symbolic entity that serves the city’s interests rather than the community’s—one that provides mere performative gestures, a prop for inclusion, rather than real empowerment."
- Read the full email below
March 28, 2025
Dear Beloved Members, Donors, and Friends of NAACP Boulder County Branch,
It is with profound sadness that we announce the dissolution of the NAACP Boulder County Branch.
Our decision comes in the wake of persistent retaliation from the City of Boulder. The city manager, police leaders, and associated governmental entities have actively sought to suppress and undermine our efforts toward racial equity. These tactics, well-known for their authoritarian and racist nature, have included division, co-opting, isolation, spreading false rumors, character assassination, and threats of legal action. The aim has been clear: to remove the leadership of NAACP Boulder and reshape our Branch into a powerless symbolic entity that serves the city’s interests rather than the community’s—one that provides mere performative gestures, a prop for inclusion, rather than real empowerment. The fact that Boulder City officials would and did so brazenly involve themselves in the governance of NAACP Boulder County, a unit of the oldest civil rights organization in the country, is truly outrageous and should deeply trouble all of us.
The struggle for racial justice demands that we not be silent and complicit about things that matter.
We faced a relentless campaign from the city manager and police chief to discredit and undermine and ultimately destroy our Branch, because of our refusal to support the promotion of Stephen Redfearn to police chief or remain silent. In his poignant letter, “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation,” civil rights icon John Lewis encapsulates our plight perfectly. final letter to the world [orh.us19.list-manage.com]
Regrettably, our attempts to stand firm against these pressures resulted in NAACP National succumbing to the threat of legal action from the city. They issued cease-and-desist letters, demanding we refrain from what they termed “unsubstantiated and inflammatory statements” directed at Redfearn, the Boulder Police Department, and City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde. This language mirrors the accusations from city officials, and to date, we have not been informed of any infractions on our part; we have consistently operated in accordance with the mission of the National NAACP.
Recently, our criminal justice chair faced suspension from the National NAACP after authoring a guest opinion simply to inform our community about a forthcoming police data dashboard, available here [orh.us19.list-manage.com]. This was followed by a dictate to appoint an overseer for all substantive decisions within our branch that made it all too clear that our ability to carry out the mission had been compromised, effectively placing our Branch under impositions by the city with national enforcement backing it. This crosses a line from the empowered legacy we sought to uphold in our community to unacceptably stifling our voices. While NAACP Boulder County will no longer exist, our commitment to safety, justice, and equality will grow stronger.
It is precisely because of the work we have done with your necessary and greatly appreciated support that our decision to dissolve the Branch lands heavy for all of us. We appreciate your support and interest in making Boulder County safer and more equitable for all members of the community. Our unanimous decision was made because we, [you] would prefer to let this great local Branch conclude rather than to exist as merely a façade, unable to take the necessary actions to hold our city and county accountable. With this dissolution, we call upon city officials and the National NAACP to be held responsible for their actions.
In solidarity and power,
NAACP Boulder County Branch Unit #40AB-B
We aspire to build an inclusive community grounded in equality where all can exercise their civil and human rights without fear and discrimination.
Denver7 contacted the City of Boulder for an interview with the leaders mentioned in the letter sent by the NAACP Boulder County chapter. The city denied that request but did provide a statement.
The city's statement said in part, "It is unfortunate that in the chapter’s statement announcing its decision, the leadership seeks to place the responsibility for its failure to operate effectively and in good faith on the city. It is particularly ironic that the allegations made against the city in this statement include behavior like “spreading false rumors” and “character assassination” – as these are the very tactics that led to a failed mediation attempt between the city and members of the Boulder County NAACP leadership team in July 2024."
- Read the City of Boulder's full statement below
"They knew exactly what they were doing, and they did it at all levels," James said. "I would just like the focus to really be on why this happened, and the reason it happened is because the City of Boulder doubled down on hiring someone with the background that this particular person brought to our community."
As for what comes next, the now-former chapter leaders say they do hope for resolution.
"I'm optimistic sometimes to weigh on the other side," said Madelyn Strong Woodley, a lifetime member of the NAACP. "I think always, there's always a fix. The players have to come together with a common objective."
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.