Sheley Secrest is a phenom.
This bright, lively, 31-year-old woman is the newest president of the Seattle chapter of the NAACP, which stands at 2,000 members strong.
Secrest, a former law clerk for federal judge Franklin Burgess, has been working as an attorney for the Public Defender Association in downtown Seattle for only six months. But this Seattle University Law School graduate, originally from Puyallup, isn't the type of person to let the grass grow under her feet.
Secrest hasn't risen so far so fast by playing politics either: She is forthright and outspoken.
Secrest characterized the local chapter of the NAACP in the past as "more of a social organization."
Filling big shoes
She calls herself a protege of past president Carl Mack, who brought the NAACP into the news over the last few years with his many bold and confrontational approaches to problems of racism, real and perceived.
Alfoster Garrett succeeded Mack in early 2005, when Mack moved out of the area, but his tenure only lasted about nine months. Secrest had little to say about Garrett, but she admires Mack immensely.
"Under Carl's leadership the NAACP became more of a service organization for cases of discrimination against individuals," Secrest said. "I plan to continue the service organization approach. This branch was recognized (under Mack) as the number one branch in the nation.
"We know how to fight discrimination best," she added. "I feel we can make a difference while utilizing the experience of the older leadership. I still have [past leaders] Judge Charles V. Johnson and Judge Donald Haley and others to go to [for advice)]."
Secrest said she disagrees that discrimination, especially along racial lines, has gone away since the days of Dr. Martin Luther King. Additionally, she pointed out that her organization will help any person of color with a discrimination complaint; she added that the chapter has also represented the disabled and is available for age-discrimination cases too.
"None of the issues are new," Secrest said. "It's the same complaints as in the 1960s. People here don't want to see what's right in their own back yard. They don't want to look at 23rd and Jackson."
She added that it isn't just white folks in this area who seem to want to play nicey-nice.
"You would be amazed at how many people come in here with a complaint and when we ask them, is your race a factor, at first they don't want to admit that. They will try all kinds of other answers out first," Secrest explained.
Rooting out racism
She thinks that young, black children still bear the brunt of racism in area schools.
"I think the young are very much aware of the current race climate [in their schools]," Secrest said. "They see certain black males being sent to the principal's office. They see advanced placement programs passing them over."
But there have been some positive results too, according to the young branch president.
"I'm impressed with the Federal Way School District," Secrest said. "They had disparities so extreme in their system they were forced to come up with a solution to address it. They are holding the teachers accountable. So many school districts put the burden of responsibility on the parents and the kids."
She also has a meeting with Seattle Public School officials coming up shortly.
"They are still having their disparities," Secrest said of Seattle schools.
She noted that she has an action plan for her first year in office, and that she will not be wasting any time implementing it.
"I want to combine a fiery leadership while using the old wisdom that is available to me," Secrest said. "We are going to focus on three problems: the schools, police accountability-which really needs improvement-and black contracting. There are so few minority-owned firms getting work on local construction projects."
While admitting that racism in the Northwest isn't always as blatant or virulent as in other parts of the country, Secrest is unapologetic about fixing the many problems she feels still remain.
Charging ahead
"We are known to be the agitators," Secrest said of the Seattle NAACP. "We want to get people discussing these issues surrounding race. I hear (black) people who say, 'slow down, don't cause no trouble. We've made progress.'"
That mentality holds no interest for Secrest.
"I want us to say that until the very poorest have the same opportunities as anyone else, we won't stop doing what we do," she said.
Secrest credits her teachers at Evergreen-the Tacoma branch, where she earned her undergraduate degree-as the biggest influence on her attitudes concerning social justice.
"They said 'enter to learn, depart to serve,'" she recalled.
Secrest said her organization is currently negotiating with Sound Transit because of problems revolving around racism against blacks.
When asked what she would do if negotiations with the transportation officials stalled, Secrest didn't hesitate.
"If the issues aren't resolved, the NAACP plans to completely shut it down," she asserted.
When asked how, Secrest smiled broadly.
"Now you know a good soldier never reveals strategy in a time of war," she stated.
Secrest said she was proud of the local NAACP's part in the recent settlement of a 32-person claim against Rabanco, the waste management giant.
Secrest said Rabanco had managers who called some of the black employees "Buckwheat."
"[The Rabanco management] flew down from Illinois and met with us and afterward completely fired the managers responsible," Secrest noted. "I was very impressed."
Secrest dismissed any thought that being the third chapter president in less than a year highlighted an organizational problem at the local chapter.
"The change of leadership is not a weakness. We're going to continue to show that discrimination has no place in Seattle," she concluded.
The NAACP meets on the fourth Monday of every month at its office in the Urban League's building at 14th and Yesler. For more information, call 324-6600.[[In-content Ad]]
