UPDATE: 3:10pm PST -12.24.08: NEB Vote Recap
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Mo'Kelly received this press release this morning...here it is in full without any editing or subsequent editorial on my part. Again, this came to Mo'Kelly. Zeta Phi Beta leadership is free to rebut any and all alleged below within The Mo'Kelly Report. Open invitation...
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Date: December 22, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: W. Renee Smith, 240-463-9788
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Membership Pursues Possible
Criminal and Civil Action Against National Board
Members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority have organized to force its National Executive
Board to recognize the official winners of the sorority’s national election for the positions of International President and Undergraduate Member-at-Large. The general election was held at the sorority’s bi-annual convention in July 2008. None of the four candidates competing for the office of International President, and the three candidates competing for National Undergraduate Member-at-Large had a majority of votes as required by the governing documents of the organization. A run-off election was held prior to the conference adjournment and Kim D. Sawyer, and Al-Qumar Akins were the clear winners with a majority of the votes cast. They, along with the other elected officers were officially installed as members of the 2008-2010 Executive Board.
However, the losing candidate, comedian Sheryl Underwood, was illegally installed by outgoing International President Barbara C. Moore and has been unofficially and illegitimately performing as the sorority’s leadership.
The membership is protesting this illegal action, and demand that the National Executive Board move with deliberate speed and due diligence to right this wrong. For the past six years the Board has refused to perform its fiduciary responsibility to protect the assets of the sorority and to hold accountable those who have performed with misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance. The Board has exercised blatant disregard for the will of the membership, ignored the governing documents of the sorority, allowed the misspending of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and has so demoralized the sisterhood that membership is now down by more than 50 percent.
It is alleged that Sheryl Underwood in her illegal capacity as president has physically assaulted a member of the headquarters staff, verbally abused other staff members, and has removed all names, but hers from the sorority bank account, an illegal act for a non-profit entity.
The membership is pursuing possible criminal and civil action against the entire National Executive Board to include Sheryl Underwood and Barbara C. Moore, who in 2006 admitted to misuse of tens of thousands of dollars of sorority funds, but has yet to be held accountable.
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The Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published weekly at www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse...as well as entertain. The Mo’Kelly Report is syndicated by Newstex and Blogburst. For more Mo’Kelly, http://www.mokellyreport.blogspot.com.
Morris W. O'Kelly can be reached at mokellyreport@sbcglobal.net and he welcomes all commentary.
10 comments:
Mo'Kelly,
I am a member of Zeta Phi Beta and I have read everything that has been given to you. I am not on the National Board, just a member who knows the Constitution of the organization. I really want to know what do you get out of this? Are you Kim Sawyer's friend and trying to help her get back at the sorority because she didn't win. I feel like this is private sorority business and should be handled as such. This information is no place for a blog. And even if you happen to receive this information, out of respect for the sorority to not publish it on your site. Someone has to be giving it to you because most of this type of information is not released to the public but through password protected login only for financial sorors. If Sheryl Underwood had been illegally sworn in there are steps in our Constitution where membership would not haft to wait on the National Executive Board to act. So whatever someone is telling you or getting you to believe alot of it is one sided and just plain not true. If she had assaulted anyone don't you think personal criminal charges would have been filed against her and the sorority? Sheryl Underwood could not take anyone's name off the bank account because banks now MUST have two signatures on file for a non profit organization and will not allow only one.
-Trinky
Well Mo'Kelly, I am a member of Zeta Phi Beta and I applaud your efforts to keep this "out there". The very idea that this should be kept secret is fundamentally wrong. It is this type of "public airing" that will apply pressure to the powers that be to correct the matter allowing little room for this mess to be "quietly" swept under the rug.
Aside from accountability to the sorors there are legal implications that must be dealt with.
I know I don't have to tell you for you to do it...but keep on doing what you do and do well!!
Chocl8t
Soror Chocl8tdiaries,
I say that this needs to be private because alot of what goes on in sororities and fraternities are governed by a Constitution and By Laws. To the outside world a decision that is made might not make sense, but to the members in the organization it does. Now Im not saying that we dont have work to do, but I dont think people that are not in the sorority can make a judgement when they know not of our Constitution and what governs our sorority. Alot of what is being done by sorors and being put out in the public is against the Constitution because this information is not for the public eyes. I believe that should be respected.
I am not a member of Z Phi B but I must say I know it is quite embarrassing for the actions of your former president and the actions of your executive board to be put on front street but maybe this has to happen. Sometimes in order to get justice, you must expose things openly to publicly.
You are not the only Black Greek org going through the tyranny of their executive boards and it must be stopped somehow. I wish you all the best of luck and as always the majority rules Greek sisters!
Trinky...
This conversation is only appearing "one-sided" because Barbara Moore and company haven't responded to any requests to either be interviewed or offer an official statement.
That's on them.
And has been intimated...this is a public issue. When there are lawsuits involved, it's a public issue. And in terms of what I get out of this...if you assess whether I should cover "x" or "y" event simply out of assessing whether I "get something" out of it...you've already missed the point.
I didn't get anything out of covering the Jena 6, Duke Lacrosse or the Oral Roberts controversy...so was I not to cover them?
The internal upheaval of Zeta Phi Beta, though unpleasant to many within Zeta, is still a news item. If nobody is suing the leadership, it never becomes a news item. But clearly this CAN'T be handled internally and this in-fighting has spilled over into the streets.
And by the way, public scrutiny and pressure is often why corporate entities do the right thing, not because of altruistic reasons. If you support Sheryl Underwood, God bless you. But that's not my mandate.
If there's something that's untrue or "unfair" about everything I've written, blame that on Zeta leadership. They've been offered equal access here. Shall I show you the request?
Those members of Zeta Phi Beta who are under the impression that this VERY PUBLIC situation should be whispered about are not even worth a response.
Outstanding work, Mo! Keep it up.
As an active and financial member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., I think it's time that we take back our sisterhood.
For the past six years, our governing documents have been violated and not upheld. You have three members running Zeta and it appears that they are running it into the ground.
Soror Trinky, trust me, what Mo Kelly is saying is true. At one point, I did not believe it until I saw tangible evidence and witnessed the underhanded behavior and activity at our Boule.
As a non profit, our actions are available for public knowledge. Also, our Constitution and By-laws are public as well.
It is definitely one sided. What is one sided is how Sheryl Underwood send out blasts that are not true.
The allegation about Sheryl Underwood physically assaulting a staff member at Head Quarters, is probably true. This person has been harassed for several years along w/ the other staff. Some people are not strong as others to speak up. We all know some women that stay in abused relationships, because they are afraid and have not where to go. It's also alleged that the person that referred her to the job is a Zeta who is close to the shenanigans that are happening within Zeta
Sheryl has verbally abused this particular person by using the same language she uses in her comedy routine.
I don't like that our business is out there, but when Sheryl Underwood and Barbara C. Moore put out press releases about her being grand, they open the door for more probing, for a winner had not been declared.
We've tried to handle things internally, but the leadership chose to ignore the body.
All I want is for the documents that the body voted to govern us to be upheld.
What's good for the goose has to be good for gander.
PS - Mo Kelly, I wish you would let Tom Joyner know what's going on. Since Sheryl Underwood loves talking about being president on the air.
New Day - Tom Joyner is both aware of what's going on and has all of the same information that I've shared here.
Whether he wishes to make it a topic for discussion on his program is up to him. I can understand both sides of the issue in terms of whether he would or would not.
But his people have been made aware.
Mo Kelly, can you get it to CNN, MSNBC, etc.
New Day - It wouldn't be "a story" for them. Not yet. There's no pending litigation and no real angle for them to cover.
And since the leadership isn't speaking...not much for them (the media) to latch onto. This is a very niche issue and doesn't appeal to mainstream national media.
But that's not to say their minds can't be changed if more momentum picks up behind it.
Remember, it took the national mainstream media MONTHS to latch on to the Juanita Bynum story.
It was reported locally and Black people talked about it nationally, but it wasn't a mainstream news issue for many months.
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