Spotlight on the NAACP at NYCHA

There are currently 13 registered active employee associations at NYCHA. One of those is NYCHA’s branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which advocates for social and criminal justice, healthcare, education, climate, economic development, racial equity, and youth. NAACP’s NYCHA branch was formed in 1969 and currently has about 500 members.

Lynn Spivey, President of the NYCHA NAACP branch and an Administrative Staff Analyst in NYCHA’s Heating Management Services Department, joined NYCHA in 1996 and became an NAACP member in 2010.

“Before the pandemic, the members would meet once a month in person,” Ms. Spivey said. “They still meet once a month but virtually.”

Ms. Spivey said that the NYCHA NAACP branch’s workshops and events focus on six core areas: civic engagement, criminal justice, education, economic development, health, and youth.

“We try to help the community through different initiatives [within these areas],” said Ms. Spivey. “For instance, with civic engagement, our branch has an initiative called ‘Voting Is Power’ (VIP), where the members go to different developments and help residents register to vote, educate them about the branches of government, and more.

“For economic advancement, we co-founded the African-American International Chamber of Commerce,” she noted. “We work with Black-owned businesses to make sure they have the necessary information and support. The goal is to make sure public housing residents have equal job opportunities, and employees who are planning to start a business have the necessary information.”

Through its ‘Just READ’ (Recognizing Education Achieves Destiny) program, more than 50 youth under the age of 17 participate in various NAACP workshops. “The goal is to give the youth a safe place to have fun,” explained Ms. Spivey.

The NYCHA NAACP branch also organizes annual events, including a Black History Month program, Women’s History Month program, Juneteenth celebration, back-to-school/stay-in-school drive, business expo, and awards dinner.

This year, Black History Month program will be held on February 19 at the Police Athletic League in Harlem featuring workshops and a youth basketball tournament.