The Alaska Oregon Washington State Area Conference (AOWSAC) of the NAACP

The Alaska Oregon Washington State Area Conference (AOWSAC) of the NAACP is dedicated to improving the political, educational, social and economic status of all persons, eliminating racial prejudice, and keeping the public aware of the adverse effects of discrimination at the state level.

We have 13 local unit Branches and multiple youth councils, high school councils and prison Branches throughout Alaska, Oregon and Washington committed to addressing issues of discrimination and inequality affecting members in our communities and at the state level.

Branches in the News

NAACP Alaska Oregon Washington elects Darrell Powell as 2nd Vice President

NAACP AK OR WA Announcement, May 30, 2021
On March 31st, Darrell Powell was nominated and unanimously confirmed by the Executive Committee as NAACP Alaska Oregon Washington’s 2nd Vice President.

‘They will never be forgotten’: Seattle King County NAACP event puts focus on police killings

The Seattle Times, May 22, 2021
Some of the names on the small white signs were probably familiar to anyone who watches the nightly news. Others may be fading from memory. But every man, woman and child memorialized Saturday at a ceremony at Seattle’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park shared a common fate: people of color killed by police officers in Washington state and across the country. “Their only crime was living and being Black and brown in America,” Carolyn Riley-Payne, president of the Seattle King County NAACP, which organized the gathering, told a noontime crowd of about 50. “We have to say their names, so that we don’t forget.”

Lydia Barlow unanimously confirmed as NAACP Regional Policy Chair

NAACP AK OR WA Annoucement, May 20, 2021
On May 12, 2021, Lydia Flora Barlow was appointed and unanimously confirmed by the Executive Committee as NAACP Alaska Oregon Washington’s Policy Chair.

Seattle's inspector general wants minor traffic stops to end

Q13 Fox News, May 20, 2021
"If we can eliminate those kinds of killings and negative kinds of interactions, then of course it will be a good idea," said Carolyn Riley-Payne. Riley-Payne is the president of the Seattle-King County NAACP. She said she still has questions about how this proposal would be implemented, but in general, supports this proposal. "Would we like to stop negative interaction between the police and the community? Do we think that’s a good idea? Of course we do," she said.