On October 9, 1917 James Weldon Johnson, Mary Ovington and W.E.B DuBois came to Hartford and spent an evening in the living room of Fredrick and Mary Seymour at 420 New Britain Avenue to discuss the issues of lynching and discrimination. In November 1917 DuBois, Ovington, and James Weldon Johnson, all prominent leaders within the national office, visited Hartford to address a large meeting at Center Church. On December 10, 1917, the national organization’s board, clearly impressed by the local activism and organizing spirit in Hartford, granted the Hartford branch a permanent charter. William Service Bell, a respected African American clerk at a local merchandise store, became the branch’s first president, while Seymour served as vice-president.
From its very beginning, the branch battled racism and discrimination in its myriad forms in everyday life, employment, housing, and education. The current endeavors of the Greater Hartford branch, now led by Corrie Betts, reveal a mission, objectives, and a vision that have held true to the foundation established by William Service Bell and Mary Townsend Seymour.
The Greater Hartford NAACP, Capital Community College, and The Greater Hartford Divine Nine will hold a Hartford Mayoral Candidate Forum on Tuesday, February 21st, 2023. As a candidate for Mayor, we would like to invite you to participate. It will be held at Capital Community College, 950 Main Street, beginning at 6:00 PM and ending at 8:00 PM. Doors will be opened at 5:30 pm.
The purpose of the Candidate forum is to give Hartford voters an opportunity to hear candidates discuss the issues of importance to them in this election. The event is free and open to the public. The candidates will answer written questions from the public during this moderated event.
Click here to ask the candidates a question.
NAACP Forums follow the nonpartisan, unbiased and impartial format established by the NAACP. An NAACP member will moderate the forum.
