TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The new president of the Tallahassee Branch of the NAACP wants to increase membership and gain more visibility to address key issues, impacting south side communities like food deserts and gun violence as he steps into the role.
- The organization elected former vice president of the organization Marlon Williams-Clark as its new president Monday.
- The announcement comes after the unexpected death of its former president Adner Marcelin in May.
- Watch the video to hear more about his plans for the organization and the community.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The Tallahassee Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People now has a new president.
The organization made the announcement two months after the death of President Ander Marcelin in May.
“I was not expecting it at all, you know. Adner wasn't just the branch president for me. He was a friend, you know, and so it definitely was a tough loss,” the new president, Williams-Clark said.
But the organization’s new President, Marlon Williams-Clark, is hoping to continue Marcelin’s work in the community.
His mantra: “It’s time to show up.”
“I do think that we are in a unique space that we can't just do marches and expect some change. We're going to have to get into these communities and we're going to have to do the real work,” he said.
He wants the branch to be more engaged in the community to solve issues he’s personally seen impacting South Side neighborhoods — issues like gun violence, lack of affordable housing and food deserts.
“We see a lot of attention being given to catering the city to college living. But what about the residents that are already here?” Williams-Clark said.
And wants to work more with city leaders to fix these problems.
The City of Tallahassee has approved funding to build a grocery store in the Griffin Heights community and has opened some affordable housing units in May.
But Williams-Clark also wants to see more recreational options, help for Black businesses, and more opportunities to address poverty.
“The city and county government has resources that will allow us to do it better or bigger, but we have to be at the table,” he said.
The first step, he believes, is gaining more members and becoming more visible.
“I have an opportunity to bring more people in and get more hands-on to be the change and do the work for the change that we want to see here,” Williams-Clark said.
He will be formally sworn in as president during a special ceremony along with other members who are moving up in the ranks.
Those details aren’t available yet.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
