Since the
beginning
Founded in 1919, just 10 years after the national organization, we have been active participants in the fight against racial inequity. We’ve been doing this work for over a hundred years. Today we’re doubling down on creating a brighter future.
Our Mission
To secure the political, educational, social, and economic equity of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons. As a local branch of a national organization with world-wide impact, we do our part to obtain and uphold political, educational, social, and economic equity for all.
Our Vision
To create and maintain an equal world free from racial hate and discrimination.
Our Leadership
Malisea "Lisa" Gardner
Malisea “Lisa” Gardner, a native of Spokane, grew up under the heavy influence of her grandmother, Sarah Gardner, an activist, entrepreneur, and former Spokane City Council candidate before her untimely death that shook the community in Spokane in 1987. To honor her grandmother’s legacy, Lisa maintained that she would complete college and always be involved in activities for the betterment of Black people and her community. Lisa attended Eastern Washington University (EWU) as an undergraduate with her Bachelor of Science in Communications before moving to Maryland, where she lived in the heart of Baltimore for 15 years and received her Master’s in Public Relations at the University of Maryland. Upon returning to Spokane, Lisa took on the role of the Director of Communications and Community Engagement for Spokane City Council, the same City Council her grandmother ran for office some 35+ years ago now. Lisa has come full circle in becoming the branch President and continuing the work and vision of NAACP. Lisa is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., a historically Black national sorority, and a member of the Spokane Chapter of the Links, Inc. Lisa sits on the Marketing and Communications Development Committees for SNAP, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Inland Northwest, and is a Board Member of Take up the Cause and TakeAll Foundation.
We’re not a political movement. We’re a human movement. And in our current moment, it’s all hands on deck!