April Tonsberg-Applegren has only been in Weld County about three years, but she’s already seen a side of it of which some lifelong residents might not be aware.
Tonsberg-Applegren is working to help the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, bring a branch to Weld County. Experiences she’s seen in Greeley and Evans include injustice many residents don’t.
A Black woman, Tonsberg-Applegren sees the differences in interactions she and those who look like her, including her family, have had with authority and others, and she feels strongly advocacy is needed.
“I’ve noticed social and civil tension,” Tonsberg-Applegren said. “I’ve been in contact with the NAACP to help make Weld County a better place for everybody to live, especially the Black community.”
Tonsberg-Applegren said she needs 100 members to start an official branch. There’s an existing chapter — the collegiate equivalent — of the NAACP at the University of Northern Colorado, she said, and she intends to help them get going as well.
“It’s not just the Black community, but the Latino community and marginalized people here,” she said.
The NAACP, which calls itself the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the country, was founded by legendary sociologist and activist W.E.B. DuBois. It states as its mission, “ensuring the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and ending race-based discrimination and prejudice.”
“We already have a good number, close to our goal, but we still need more people,” Tonsberg-Applegren said.
Tonsberg-Applegren said she’s never been involved in anything on this scale before. A retail manager, mother, wife and longtime activist, she feels this is the time to make a move for further social justice.
“I’d like to see more openness in our community, a willingness to engage with the Black community and allow them to operate without having to jump hurdles,” she said. “I’m hoping this is a move in a direction to bring accountability where accountability has not been given or afforded to us. I’d like to help. I’m hoping to be a positive change and see a unity happen in some way.”
Rosemary Lytle, president of the local NAACP state area conference and chair of NAACP Midwest Region IV, said in a release the rewards of work in civil rights and social justice are many and she sees it as an “honor” to perform NAACP work which she calls a “labor of love.”
“Since 1909, the NAACP has been a defining force for social change and civil rights in this country,” Lytle said in the release. “And Weld County will be no different. The NAACP is forming here as a way to bring a critical Black perspective — and people of color perspective — to life as it is known here. When there is a dedicated group focused on civil rights, social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion — as the NAACP is — it can be transformative.”
Per the release, to receive information and an application to join, contact Tonsberg-Appelgren by email at apriltonsbergappelgren@gmail.com or call her at 615-638-5529. NAACP adult membership is $30 per year and includes a subscription to The Crisis, the historic magazine first edited by NAACP founder DuBois. Learn more about the work of the NAACP at www.naacp.org.
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July 11, 2020 at 09:01PM
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NAACP working to bring branch to Weld - Greeley Tribune
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