The Peoria Chapter of the NAACP and members of the community are calling for the removal of the Carver Community Center Board. Peoria Public Radio’s Tanya Koonce reports they are passing petitions in support of the effort.
That was the point of a meeting last night though no Carver Center board members were present, despite being invited.
The board parted with interim volunteer Executive Director Ken Hinton and his core team more than a month ago. That rift has not been repaired, and the community center is about six weeks away from it’s planned reopening with no staff or programing apparent.
That has Peoria branch NAACP President Don Jackson calling for answers. “They are pretty much ignoring the community I think, and that is a sad state of affairs because Carver has always belonged to the community. It does not belonged to the board,” said Jackson. “Consequently, that whole attitude has to change and that’s what we’ll work towards.”
Jackson says it’s unclear if the Carver Center can still make the July 27 reopening date and if it does, how long it’s sustainable under the current 9 member board.
Ken Hinton has said he and his core team are willing to return, but not under the direction of the current board. Efforts to reach board members were not successful.
For more information about NAACP effort contact Don Jackson's office.