Honoring 100 years of service, struggle and solidarity

San Mateo County is a place of innovation and opportunity, but it has also been a landscape marked by discrimination, redlining, school segregation, employment barriers, and racial injustice. Through it all, the NAACP San Mateo has been there, confronting power, elevating marginalized voices, and pushing institutions toward fairness and accountability. We have stood with Black families facing housing discrimination, immigrants fighting for dignity, LGBTQI+ residents battling prejudice, workers seeking equal pay, and students demanding their right to quality education in safe and inclusive environments. We have challenged policing practices that harmed our communities, stood up against voter suppression, and advocated for policies that uplift and not silence the most vulnerable among us.

Our work has never been limited to a single demographic or issue. For 100 years, we have fought for the civil rights of all, regardless of sexual identity, residency status, political affiliation or race. Because the NAACP’s mission has always been rooted in one unshakeable truth: our collective humanity binds us together. We rise or fall as a community, not based on how we treat those who look and live like us, but how we honor and uphold the dignity of those who don’t.

Today, as we navigate a moment where political polarization threatens our unity, where misinformation fractures communities, where racial inequities persist, and where many feel increasingly unsafe simply being who they are, the NAACP’s role is more vital than ever. Our branch has spent a century calling attention to injustice, but we have also spent a century offering hope, hope grounded in action, policy and community-based solutions. Hope grounded in courage.

As president, I am humbled by the shoulders I stand on; freedom fighters like Herby Dawkins and countless others whose names may not appear in history books but whose footprints remain across San Mateo County… along with the likes of Fixin’, the REACH Coalition, and so many others. These were and are individuals who stood up at a time when standing up meant risking everything. Their legacies and ongoing work call on us not simply to commemorate this centennial, but to recommit to its purpose.

Looking ahead, our next century will demand new strategies forged with the same courage. We must strengthen our fight for equitable housing in a county with some of the highest costs in the nation. We must ensure fair treatment for our immigrant neighbors who contribute so much to our culture and economy. We must protect LGBTQI+ youth facing rising hostility. We must safeguard voting rights in every city and ensure every resident, regardless of political leaning, feels protected by, not threatened by, our democracy. And we must continue to advocate for educational systems that value and support every student, especially those way too often overlooked … especially that of our Black residents whose numbers are low throughout our county but who are among the hardest hit and most impacted by the many disparities that exist. 

This work belongs to all of us. It requires the wisdom of elders who have lived the struggle, the energy of youth who are ready to lead, and the partnership of institutions willing to build a county where equity is not a bad word or an aspiration but an expectation.

One-hundred years of the NAACP San Mateo is not just a celebration; it’s a promise. A promise that we will continue to speak truth to power. That we will continue to defend the voiceless. That we will continue to ensure San Mateo County is a place where every child, every family, every worker, and every community has the opportunity to thrive.

As we prepare to commit to being better this year, let us recommit to one another and join this journey. Stand with us. Challenge inequity wherever it appears. Lean into conversations that make us better. Let us reject division and choose empathy, respect, and justice.

Because our collective humanity and respect for one another must remain paramount, we cannot succeed without them.

Here’s to the next 100 years. May they be defined not only by the challenges we overcome but also by the community we build together.

Maurice Goodman is president, NAACP San Mateo County Branch.