To the Editor,
As President of the Alton Branch of the NAACP, I cannot remain silent while the Madison County Board chooses to celebrate Charlie Kirk on Oct. 14, 2025. This decision is not only deeply offensive-it is an outright insult to every Black man, woman, and child in our country.
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Charlie Kirk has built his platform on belittling Black people, spreading dangerous stereotypes, and spewing rhetoric that divides rather than unites. His words have not been slips of the tongue or isolated incidents; they are consistent attacks aimed at downgrading the worth, dignity, and humanity of so-called "Black people". For the County Board to lift him up as someone worthy of celebration is to endorse those attacks and to tell our community that our pain and our struggle mean nothing.
Let's be clear: this is not about politics. This is about decency, morality, and respect. Public officials should never place a spotlight on voices that mock, demean, and degrade a people who have fought for centuries for equality and justice in this country. By honoring Kirk, the Madison County Board has chosen to stand with racism rather than with the principles of equality they swore to uphold.
Our community is watching. Our children are watching. And they deserve better than to see hate and division celebrated under the banner of leadership.
On behalf of the NAACP, I strongly denounce this shameful action by the Madison County Board. I call on them to reverse course, to stop legitimizing racism, and to remember that leadership is about lifting people up-not tearing them down.
Respectfully,
President, Alton Branch NAACP
Executive Committee Members:
Anita Banks, Debra Bradley, Carolyn Caruthers, April Pittman, Fionna Smallwood-Bey, Marcus Harrison, James Hickman, Pat May, Rita Dread Young, Dennis Perry EL, Constance Hunt, Deanne Smith, Rebecca Cowart, Phillipio Green, Michael Holiday Sr., Priscilla Holiday, Gerald Randol, Joe Williams and Travis Smith Sr.
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