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NAACP Orange County President Resigns + Cites Racism Drove Her Out

WBLS Staff
08/24/2022 12:00 AM EDT
Dr. Vanessa Toolsie has resigned from her position as the Orange County, FL NAACP president after serving for six months. According to a recent Facebook post, she had informed her colleagues of her plans to leave, citing racial insults she received by one of the executive members in her branch, and so much more.“Due to this continued, in my view, racist marginalization of me as the branch’s first South Asian President, disproportionately substandard treat of me as President, sabotage of branch meetings during my administration, verbal attacks of me during meetings… I have regretfully announced my resignation due to racist marginalization,” Toolsie wrote. She also explained that she was attacked about her Trinidadian heritage in emails and meetings. However, she did recall some of the members who supported her and said, “it would be hypocritical of me to continue to stand at the helm of an organization branch for the equality of all persons that is against racism and oppression, while I continue to be treated with such bold disproportionate inequality, maliciously racistly oppressed as the first AAPI President of the branch to a disproportionate blatant level that I have not yet seen in any organization.” In 2021, Vanessa Toolsie was elected branch vice president and revealed that she was at first hesitant to take the role because she isn’t Black but changed her mind after doing research on the organization’s founder backgrounds. John Cummings, the Branch spokesperson responded to Toolsie’s resignation by saying in a statement, “I am concerned about this person and the charges that were made. We don’t want to overlook or dehumanize or, in any way, cause anybody problems or concerns intentionally or unintentionally. Dr. Toolsie’s last day in office will be August 31st and Tiara Robinson, the Orange County Branch's first vice president will fill in the vacated role.