NAACP Georgia State Conference President
Gwenette Westbrooks

Who I Am

I have been President of the NAACP Macon-Bibb Branch since 2012. I have served in different capacities since joining the Branch in 1999, including serving as the Secretary and the Legal Redress Chair. From childhood, I have been dedicated to serving others, which led me to this great organization that I call family. It is important that we stand strong on the mission and vision of this organization and stay united as one. I believe that the Youth Chapter, College Chapter and Adult Branch should be educated and trained at the same time with the same information to be on one accord. 

I am dedicated to family, service, and community engagement. I am the oldest of 6 children, 2 of which I raised as my own after our mother’s passing. I have walked through life's journey with my husband of 32 years. Healthy families and communities are my core mission. 

Protecting Our Youth and Families

I am very active in challenging unfair punishments and restitutions. For example, there was an incident involving several teenagers who left a party, ran through a Walmart and knocked several items off the shelves. I was able to: 

• Demand middle and high school students' bonds be reduced and secured their release from jail and the Youth Detention Center; 

• Push for charges being reduced, after the District Attorney charged them with felony rioting and street gang activity, proposing a five-year sentence;

• As a result of my advocacy, they all received community service instead. 

While I believed they should have been punished, the charges were too harsh and did not fit the offense. Most of the students were high school seniors and their future would have been destroyed. 

I have also worked to ensure students who are suspended from school do not fall behind on their education by working with principals to have the students home-schooled during their suspension.

Dignity in Ownership

Several residents at a local trailer park contacted me after they found suspicious liens were placed against their property. After some investigation, I found the owner owed $100 000 in back taxes, and as a result liens were placed on his land, as well as the residents’ trailers. I was able to obtain titles for the residents that owned their trailer or just had paid for their trailer. The Tax Commissioner worked with me to not levy their property due to delinquent taxes of the land owner. The owner paid all back taxes for each resident, and they all received their titles.

Justice and Advocacy

I built a relationship with the Sheriff, District Attorney, The Public Defender Office, River Edge Behavioral Health Center, and the Department of Community Supervision for the State of Georgia (Probation). Each week, I go into the jail and speak to both male and female inmates. I advocate for their rights while incarcerated, such as access to an attorney, medication, medical care and for the improvement of conditions of the jail. I also advocate for the wrongfully incarcerated, for violation of probation, and refer cases to the District Attorney on behalf of inmates. I also sit in the eviction court, state court, and superior courts weekly to ensure fairness in our judicial system. With River Edge, I work with inmates that have mental health issues, and provide them clothing.

Combating Voter Suppression Tactics

I stopped the Board of Elections from placing a voting precinct at a police station in a Black community that didn't have a good relationship with Law Enforcement. I collaborated with Mercer University Students, allowing us to secure a considerable percentage of registered voters' signatures in protest of this proposal. Alongside other volunteers, we walked for two weeks to get the signatures we needed to combat this ever increasingly common voter suppression tactic.