ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The president of a local NAACP branch in Florida has resigned, saying that as a South Asian woman she experienced “racist marginalization” from others in the civil rights group.
Dr. Vanessa Toolsie, an elected vice president of the Orange County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, became its leader in March when Tiffany Hughes resigned to run for a Florida legislative seat.
Born in Trinidad of Indian descent, she posted a lengthy resignation letter on Facebook on Sunday, and then replaced it with a brief statement saying “I will NO LONGER tolerate ANY racism against me for being a #ProudBrownWoman of #SouthAsian and #Caribbean descent,” the Orlando Sentinel reported.
“The fact that I have consistently been made to endure this hateful racism in anti-racist spaces is abhorrently shameful, and in moving forward, let it be widely known that I have #ZEROtolerance for any further anti-Brown racism against me or anyone else. More to come. #STOPAAPIhate #BROWNandPROUD,” she wrote.
Toolsie then read her resignation letter during a virtual board meeting Monday night. One person objected, describing her claims as “false allegations against the executive committee,” the newspaper reported. Others asked in the chat feature whether Toolsie had any proof and what could be done to assure that no one else has a similar experience. The meeting was adjourned without further discussion.
“I am concerned about this person and the...
"I will note that in 2024, troops were -- that was Joe Biden by the way, Joe Biden -- were deployed to polling locations in 15 states," Hegseth said April 29, 2026 before the House of Representati...