(UPDATED 11-6-19) – Sadiqa Sakin, the embattled president of the Seattle/King County NAACP, has been suspended by the national NAACP office pending an investigation.
Sakin, the first muslim woman elected as president of the branch, has been under fire via social media, as she has been accused of fiscal mismanagement of the organization as the branch has reportedly bounced multiple checks during her tenure, which began in January of 2019. In addition, former Seattle/King County NAACP President Dr. Carl Mack has been critical of Sakin for taking a presidential stipend, something that Mack and other previous presidents say is uncommon as they have all volunteered their time and resources to the organization. Mack has also accused Sakin of misrepresentation of her education, and her alleged affiliation with an African American Sorority.
Sakin’s suspension comes as a result of a letter of no-confidence signed by 30 members of the local organization that was dated July 31, 2019 and forwarded to the national NAACP office on Aug. 1, 2019. The letter asked that Sakin “be immediately suspended and removed” from office based on the following allegations:
• Since taking office in January 2019, both President Sakin and [the] Treasurer have [allegedly] refused to submit a financial report to the Executive Committee, even after many requests to learn the financial status of the Branch.
• President Sakin [allegedly] ordered the ACT-SO Chair to withdraw thousands of dollars from the ACT-SO banking account to deposit into the Unit General Fund, which funds were [allegedly] expended on non- ACT-SO activities. This violation comingles 501 c (4) monies with 501 c (3) monies, which is prohibited.
• [It is alleged that] President Sakin intentionally wrote bounced checks from the Unit’s General Fund knowing that there was insufficient funds in the branch account. This constitutes a crime in Washington State per RCW 9A.56.060 UNLAWFUL ISSUANCE OF CHECKS OR DRAFTS.
The letter, dated Nov. 4, 2019, from the national office to Sakin, stated, “You are hereby directed to cease and desist from acting or holding yourself as President of the Seattle King County Branch.”
The letter also stated that Sakin’s “suspension from office is effective immediately pending the results of your hearing and further action by the NAACP Board of Directors.”
New Allegations
In addition, The Seattle Medium has confirmed that a second letter of no-confidence was already in the process of being drafted and sent to the national office by members of the local NAACP branch based on new developments, including findings that materialized last week.
According to a social media post by Mack, and confirmed by multiple members of the Seattle/King County NAACP board, Seattle/King County NAACP Treasurer Edward Newbins, Legal Redress Chair Sade Smith, and LGBTQ Chair Duante Damper discovered that Sakin allegedly, without the knowledge and/or authorization of the NAACP board, had withdrawn over $1,200 from the NAACP Stipend Account for her personal use, and allegedly “left $1 in the account.” In addition, the post alleges that Sakin, without the knowledge and/or approval of the board, had applied for and received an NAACP credit card with a $5,000 limit. According to Mack’s post, the credit card was allegedly used for personal expenditures and had “a balance of $4,032.62.”
In response to these allegations, Sakin, in an electronic message obtained by The Seattle Medium and confirmed by multiple members of the NAACP board as having received it, wrote to members of the board apologizing for using the money and promised to pay back the money. She said the she utilized the money because she had a lot of personal expenditures related to the “recent attacks on social media” that have been levied against her.
However, Sakin later wrote in an email to NAACP board members, also obtained by The Seattle Medium, that her “presidential authority was exercised and a credit card….. was opened under my name under the Branch’s accounts. This action was done in the presence of the Treasurer of the Seattle King County NAACP, Edward Newbins and the banker.”
In an email response to Sakin and other board members, Newbins denied the claim that he was present when Sakin opened the account.
According to members familiar with the second letter of no-confidence, they expect the letter to be formalized and sent to the national office later this week.
The Seattle Medium reached out to Sakin, prior to receiving information about her suspension, with regards to the allegations related to this story and the state of the local branch and was told by Sakin that she needed to confer with her legal team before making any comments.
According to the by-laws of the NAACP, First Vice President Carolyn Riley-Payne will take over the duties as president pending the investigation and any further notice from the national office of the NAACP.
This is a developing story that the Seattle Medium will update as we receive more information.
