The Sedalia-Pettis County NAACP is in support of a Missouri travel advisory issued in June by the statewide organization.
According to the Associated Press, the Missouri NAACP issued a travel advisory urging caution in Missouri over concerns about whether civil rights will be respected.
The advisory cites legislation signed by Gov. Eric Greitens in late June that will make it more difficult to sue for housing or employment discrimination, according to AP. The advisory also cites other issues, including a recent report that shows black Missouri drivers last year were 75 percent more likely to be stopped than whites.
Rhonda Chalfant, president of the local NAACP chapter, said she thinks the travel advisory is a good idea to inform “people in the rest of the country how Missouri treats its citizens.”
“It’s not just a black problem, it includes things like like sexual harassment on the job, discrimination against older people, discriminating based on a person’s sexual orientation or identity, or discriminating on the basis of their disabilities,” Chalfant said of the new law. “The law makes proving discrimination in court more difficult. … As a result, the state NAACP issued a warning that if people plan to move to Missouri, they are moving to a climate where discrimination and harassment are much more tolerated.”
Chalfant said she was in attendance at the June statewide NAACP meeting and offered an example to support the advisory.
“The example I used when I spoke at the state meeting was how would you feel if your 16-year-old daughter were pawed on at work, and when she refused she was fired and couldn’t use that harassment as a part of the grounds for a lawsuit?” Chalfant said.
According to the AP report, the state NAACP says the new law could make it tougher to hold people accountable for harassment and discrimination, while supporters argue the law will help reduce “frivolous lawsuits” in the state.
The recently-passed legislation states that workers wanting to pursue a wrongful-termination lawsuit must be able to prove that discrimination or harassment was the sole reason they were dismissed from a job, which Chalfant noted can be difficult to do. Previous standard only required workers prove discrimination was a contributing factor.
“I believe it will make people aware of where Missouri is and the degree Missouri has stepped backward in time on issues of discrimination and civil rights,” Chalfant said of the advisory. “… I don’t know what sort of impact it will have here (in Pettis County). What worries me is in Pettis County it will allow employers to feel more free to discriminate or harass because they basically know they can get by with it. It doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen.”
Missouri NAACP President Rod Chapel told AP national delegates voted last week to adopt a travel advisory that the state chapter issued in June. Chapel said the national board will consider ratification in October.
