 Aloha, welcome to Think Tech Hawaii's Movers, Shakers and Reformers, Politics in Hawaii series. I'm your host Carl Kempanya. Today our guest is Mr. Alfonso Braggs, president of Hawaii NAACP. I'm thrilled to have him here today. There's a number of issues to talk about. But first we're going to start off with a little bit about who NAACP is, a little bit about who Alfonso is. And then we're going to jump into some topics from there. So rather than have me go on and on about what I think I might know, let's actually have Mr. Alfonso Braggs tell us what he knows and what he thinks. Well first of all, thank you very, very much for having me on the show today. It's quite an honor and it's an esteemed privilege to represent the nation's oldest and boldest civil rights organization. And I'm quite, quite humbled to serve at the helm. And I've been in the helm here since about 2004. So 2000 you've been president of NAACP here in Hawaii since 2004. Yes. Excellent, excellent. So wow, that's a 10-year. That is a 10-year and again we serve at the well and pleasure of the constituents. And we serve two-year terms, we on those terms begin on even numbered years. And so I'm just now beginning a new term. Excellent, excellent. Okay. Well tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you here. Okay. What got you to Hawaii and president NAACP. So give us a summary. All right. So I came to Hawaii around about 1991 or so about. And I came here while I was in the military assigned to the U.S. Navy. And when I retired, that's in 2004, was when I fully engaged NAACP. I've always been a part of the NAACP and an advocate for social justice and deeply involved in civic engagement and the community. So the fact that I was able to ascend to NAACP president was very, very humbling. And one that I don't take lightly, it is certainly a huge responsibility. And one that I have to say over the course of the years, I've endured death threats and all other kinds of situations. But at the end of the day, when we accept that responsibility, we understand the consequences. Yeah, the potential consequences. Which is what brings admiration from some people, saying, you know what, I recognize some of the potential pitfalls, challenges and hazards. But it's important that we all stand up where we need to stand up and that we don't shy away for fear. Absolutely. And I think that what's important about the NAACP is that we have taken that great risk even death in a number of cases to stand up. The NAACP was organized in 1909 by multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-gender individuals who had a solemn belief that all people were valuable and valued and that they should have an equal opportunity in America. And that is the premise of the mission, right? Absolutely. We are here to eradicate racial disparities across a number of areas such as economics, health, education, criminal justice and regardless of it, of that particular arena, some a little more prevalent than others, but that is our primary focus. Yeah. Okay. So since 1909, so yes, you said over 100 years. In that time frame, so that mission has been established and it has not wavered? We have not wavered at all. And the interesting piece is that the best thing that could ever happen to the NAACP is for us not to have a purpose, that the objective of eradicating racism and discriminatory practices in America would be done away with. We just, there would be no longer a need for us. And I also need to mention the fact that we have not accomplished the portion of the goals and objectives that we set out alone. We have certainly been successful because we've had like-minded partners, other civil rights organization, private and public sector and also because of champion what should be democracy and equality for all, we've been able to effect change in the local, state and national governances and be able to bring about change that way that have helped in our particular objectives. See if that's excellent. So I was actually going to ask you that question. Are there, who would you want to or are you willing to give me a short list of some of your partners that you have worked with? Here locally. Well, even here locally and nationally because a lot of the local organizations have national affiliations or a part of. So I'll just say for example, like the Japanese-American Citizens League, JACL, the American Civil Liberties Union, all of the ethnic social justice groups and some of the government ones as well such as the EEOC, yes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. And so we've used at the state and level in partnership those government agencies to assist us and that's kind of how we've managed to achieve. Even like in HUD, the Housing Urban Development Department, they have a civil rights department division. The Federal Bureau of Investigations has a civil rights division and those particular partners in collaboration with the NAACP we've been able to bring about change across the nation. Yes, which in this day and age we kind of feel like we're backsliding a little bit. Is that a challenge that has been showing itself to you more in the past six months or the past year? I would say that perhaps in the last few years we have seen a marked decrease in what we consider some of our monumental accomplishments in civil rights. Probably the best example that I can give is the one in the Voting Rights Act. We fought long and hard and countless individuals endured death, dismemberment and serious bodily harms in order for us to achieve the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And to have that particular section five of the Voting Rights Act, to have that particularly gutted out as a result of the Shelby case that went before the Supreme Court and for the Congress not to be able to put a permanent provision in there that protected basic citizens right to an equal opportunity to a fair voting process. Exactly. So this becomes a larger issue, right? Oh, it's a huge issue because you can associate a single citizen's vote to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. And that is, and I think that if we look at history in America, we can look at Plessy v. Ferguson and then we can see a transition between the court and the dynamics of the thinkers and interpreters of the entitlements of the Constitution all the way up to when we get the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. And we can see that change and we can look all the back further and we can look at the Dred Scott case. So we have an opportunity there with great analysis to see the profound impact that a single vote can make all the way to who decides your rights and entitlements based on interpretations of the Constitution. And that's one of the biggest issues that's happening right now with the new president that is in place and a lot of the changes that have come about already just through executive orders. But it isn't just that. As you mentioned, going back several years, a number of states have been working towards changing the voter laws, voter ID laws and coming up with what many see as discriminatory laws. Absolutely. Absolutely. To be, to prevent some sectors of people from access to voting, easy access to voting. A lot of people will disagree with that. A lot of people will say they have a right to vote, they have the ability to vote, just go get an ID. What's the problem? Go get an ID and go vote. What have been some of the challenges that you have seen to counter that argument that, you know what, just go get an ID and go vote? Well, why don't we take some of the specifics? We don't need to travel far to Kaka'ako or to other areas here in downtown Honolulu to take some of our homeless individuals. Our homeless individuals aren't just suffering from economic disparity. They also have associated medical and some psychological issues and age issues, absolutely. We also, the uniqueness of Hawaii is dealing with what is a cultural indifference. And so when we take all of those dynamics, it's not as easy for an individual who wants, who is a citizen, let's be clear, and wants to be part of the citizenship process that treasured right to vote. It's not that easy for them when they're homeless and they have their personal items removed. There are costs associated for several and other issues that transportation, appointments, all of those kinds of things that over time and repetitiveness, it is a discouragement. So would you say that in some cases these laws have been put in place to say you don't have the right to vote if you don't actually have a home address? You don't have the right to vote if you can't afford transportation to get your ID. You don't have the right to vote if you just don't go get that ID and don't show up to vote. You're making the choice versus you don't have the right if you don't. So someone who's homeless, if the provision is you must have an ID to vote. Well, to have an ID, you also will have an address associated with that. And if you're homeless and you don't have an address associated with that, now you can't get an ID. So does that mean you shouldn't be able to vote? Does that mean you've lost or given up your right to vote? I don't think so and I'll use this analogy. The scales of justice, which is the emblem of what equality represents, those two scales represent equal balance for every single individual that comes before the justice bar. That particular woman, which I think is interesting, that it is a female to remind us of again equality and fairness, that woman is blinded and the fact that she is blinded is that she will not pass a particular judgment on what she sees. Justice is supposed to be fair and impartial and so that equal opportunity, and I think that's the key element here. All of us have an equal opportunity to every right that is provided in the Constitution. And when we have a system that throughout the nation and even here in Hawaii that would impose an unfair or unequal treatment or create a disparity on individuals trying to exercise that right, that's when I feel that we've done an injustice. I agree with that. And that isn't just necessarily considered a racial question as much as we can even look at it from an educational perspective and it's about access, access to a quality education, access to any right, anything that we would consider a right, which again some people will start to say, well, is education a right? Is healthcare a right? How are we defining what is a right and not a right? And that ends up being part of the argument. And then, yes, we say opportunity to have all of these. Everyone who is a citizen should have the opportunity and everyone will say yes, you have the opportunity, but it's not my fault you don't have a job, it's not my fault you don't have a house to live in, it's not my fault you didn't make the time to go get your ID, it's not my fault, you have the opportunity. I think that we need to address opportunity and we can look at the Plessy V. Ferguson and let's just look at the separate but equal concept. At one point in time, our justice folks thought that if we said separate but equal, that that was going to mitigate this opportunity. And so over the course of years, the decisions has been made by those of jurisprudence that separate but equal does not afford a citizen that equal opportunity. And so again, we have to be careful there that we don't just have an end opportunity that still has a clogged pathway that challenges every individual to get there. Exactly, it's not just a statement of opportunity, it's a statement of applicability. Absolutely, so it's the same as an unfunded mandate if we talk about education. The national can impose what the standards are, the justice system can impose what we want our police officers to do and the standard we want them to meet. However, if we do not fund the ability for that particular entity to get to that standard, then we have an unfunded mandate. And unfortunately, the bureaucrats will wash them hands, their hands of that particular requirement and say that we've done our part. And that needs to be looked at and addressed. So we're already at our break, so that's how quick this goes. Thank you for joining us. This is Think Tech Hawaii's Movers, Shakers and Reformers, Politics in Hawaii series. Thanks again to my guest today, Mr. Afonso Braggs from the NAACP. And we'll be right back in one minute. Aloha and happy new year. It's 2017. Please keep up with me on Power Up Hawaii, where Hawaii comes together to talk about a clean and just energy future. Please join me on Tuesdays at one o'clock. Mahalo. Hello, I'm Crystal from QoqTalk. I've got a new show here. You've got to tune in, check out my topics on sensitive, provocative, female issues. So Tuesday mornings, 10 o'clock, don't miss it, is going to be fun and dangerous. Welcome back to Think Tech Hawaii's Movers, Shakers and Reformers. I'm your host, Carl Kampanya. Once again, welcome, Mr. Afonso Braggs. Thank you so much for having me. Thrilled, thrilled to have you here. And thank you again for the conversation in the first segment. I think it's very important that we find a way to understand the challenges that we have and not just write them off as not my business, because that's what a lot of people do. And frankly, most people, myself included, don't have enough time to really understand. So if we can find moments to be succinct, find moments to communicate a message that maybe someone hasn't heard before, that's I think what we always need to try to do, to try to keep finding a way. So again, I thank you for joining us. Okay, let's jump, let's talk now about civil rights, social justice in Hawaii. What would be your top two, three agenda items as far as Hawaii is concerned that you are working on? I would have to say that the top three issues that I recognize in the civil rights arena for Hawaii first have to do with employment discrimination in the criminal justice system and then disparities in the education and health, I would say, come in equally as a third and equal third. Okay, so then let's start with the employment. Employment discrimination, again, the diversity of Hawaii makes us great. It's wonderful. We get to be a beacon of light and hope for all of the globe. However, comma, it also creates a unfair burden on individuals trying to have an equal opportunity at that advancement, at that promotion, at that employment, and it's based on cultural misunderstanding. The fact that a lot of people with the diversity, and by diversity I'm not only speaking of race, I'm speaking of gender, I'm speaking of age, I'm speaking of preference, we are a forward-thinking state and so we are very progressive in a lot of ways that our workplace and environment functions. And I think that a lot of the stagnation that comes with being on an island that our workplaces are not properly prepared. We have ill educated managers who are making decisions and some of them are primarily because they're inept. That is supported by an insetuous justice system that doesn't necessarily afford an impartial opportunity to mitigate recurrences. And so I think that's just on the cusp that are some of those are some of the issues that we deal with. Sure, no, absolutely, absolutely. So, okay, we got to cover in this show a lot of the education challenges, but it's a huge issue and it is a civil rights issue. It is a social justice issue because we've got our private schools that cost a lot of money, so therefore it's prohibited for most people and the education that is available to the children who are able to attend those schools compared to the public school system and the kids who end up there. And I say end up there because they don't have a choice in that regard because it's not affordable. What are some of the things that you're working on to help address that? Or in what ways can you help support that? I know there's a lot of things that are being done in a lot of areas. I know there's a number of groups that are trying to get together. To talk about what can and how it should be done. But what have you been engaged in over the past several years and what would you like to see? I think that we have to have an open and honest discussion on how our Department of Education and our Board of Education are structured and whether or not it is in the best interest of our future generations that we continue with a single Board to represent the entire state. I think that's first and foremost. I think the second issue that we need to address, and again we must be open and objective, is we need to articulate better what are our educational standards. We have to have a unique standard for Hawaii that not only meets a national requirement, but also gives extreme respect to what is our cultural difference here in Hawaii. If you remove the culture of what makes a human being have self-pride and a sense of purpose, you defeat what is the objective of education. And then thirdly, we need to have accountability. We need to have accountability for the educators to educate our children. We need to be conscientious of how the private system, not completely, but deletes and depletes from the public sector to the impact that it has, where if we have so many children taken out of a certain area, the government and the state is responsible for the public sector. After a certain period of time of that depletion, those funds, we have mergers. We're forced to merge. And those kids that are left there are left with less funds to function and less resources and lower paying instructors or teachers. And now they're ill-prepared to move up into the collegiate level. So there's a lot. There is a huge amount there, let alone the fact that we are this year 500 teachers short. Absolutely. And we've been a number for a long time. Last year we were 600 short. We found 100 more. Somehow we found 100 more. I don't know how that happened. Great, but we need more. And there are barriers to that. And those barriers include the cost of living here. The cost of living. And what the pay structure is. I actually just throw this in quickly. I had a conversation with a girl yesterday coming out of I think the DC area. She was teaching in the DC area and she was making about $80,000 a year. She moved here a couple of years ago and she had to take a 60% pay cut. And she had 16 years experience. She shows up here. They eliminated 10 years of her experience and said, you have to start here. And that was just what the agreement was. So you want to talk about the teachers and the barriers that exist so that we have more teachers and more quality teachers. That's one of them right there. That's just one huge component of resolving our educational system here in Hawaii. You bring up the teachers and the payment and how we value our educators. We have to also, equally important, have to teach our teachers how to train children who don't look like them, who did not grow up in their communities, and who don't come from the same social or economic background. Because of the diversity that is experienced on the mainland, or the infrequent diversity due to geography, then that is not as commonplace as it is here in Hawaii. Exactly. And that's a critical issue. It's huge. And again, too many huge issues. And it makes your head spin once you start really digging in. What is your thought? From a couple of weeks ago now, there was a teacher out in Eveside that made the statement that he did not want to teach, or he would refuse to teach children who were illegal immigrants. That's obviously a social justice issue. That's obviously a civil rights issue. That is obviously a huge concern. Has NAACP taken a position on that? Or what would your comment be officially? I would say that the particular statement, and that's the appropriate response from us, is that a teacher in the classroom, regardless of where you teach, if you're not teaching political science or you're not doing English literature, addressing a specific topic that is not related to the topic being taught, then your personal opinion shouldn't be expressed. I will never advocate for a person not to exercise their First Amendment right. There's always an appropriate time and place for you to share that. Perhaps the dinner table, perhaps on the golf course with a friend, you say that's your personal opinion. However, when you speak in certain environments, you don't have the option of not representing the institution. And so for a teacher to make a statement like that, you automatically represent what is our profound education system. Agreed. And number one, that person still has their job. I question that a little bit. It's difficult to get rid of a teacher. And again, that is one of the hidden mysteries of how our structure works here in Hawaii. So rightly so with respect to disciplines and employment, you cannot publicly say who, the where, the what, and how. But we do need to have a better system of checks and balances of accountability and a more expedient, judicious process for dealing with inappropriate behavior by educators in the school system. Exactly. We only have about a minute or so left. So let me do this. I would look at this whole, I would look at that instance as one piece of a larger issue, which we were also talking about as far as the difference between expensive education versus public education, private versus public. And I would begin to ask the question, is anyone looking at there being cause for potential lawsuit for the disparity that is being allowed in that system? And I don't know that you could hinge a lawsuit on that singular component versus there being more of a group issue with the dynamics. And here's the here's the sad state. I don't know that we could bring about any type of successful redress unless we had the people in the square building, the folks who meet down at the board of education, say that we really are ready to work on these issues because they're systemic. Well, let's do that. Let's do that because I think it's past time. It is way past time. So thank you so much. I'm so sad that the show's already over. But thank you so much for joining me. I would appreciate at any time that you have to come back at some point. And we could any other issues that pop up as well. But we'd love to continue to get some updates as far as we've got a lot of things that we didn't get a chance to cover so we have so many things. Excellent. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you for joining us. This is Think Tech, Hawaii's Movers, Shakers and Reformers Politics in Hawaii Series. I'm your host, Carl Campania. Once again, thanks again to our guest, Mr. Alfonso Braggs from the NAACP. We will see you next week. Thank you to the staff, the crew and everybody here at Think Tech. So see that.