NAACP Issues Cease and Desist—Freedmen Respond with Federal Civil Rights Complaint

On June 5, 2025, the Carroll County NAACP Branch 5179B issued a formal Cease and Desist letter to the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust, rejecting the Trust’s legal standing over Juneteenth cultural governance and declaring that the holiday “is not subject to the oversight or certification of any private trust or entity.”

This direct dismissal of Freedmen authority was issued after the Trust had already served notice asserting that Verified Freedmen are the rightful class protected by the Juneteenth legacy. The Trust had objected to the NAACP’s promotion of Juneteenth using Pan-African visuals and rebranding, excluding any acknowledgment of the holiday’s specific origin: the emancipation of U.S. Freedmen.

In response, the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust has filed a Title VI Civil Rights Complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. This complaint documents:

• A pattern of cultural exclusion,

• Potential misuse of federal funds by NAACP-affiliated events,

• The refusal to recognize Verified Freedmen status,

• And the rebranding of Juneteenth in ways that displace the original beneficiary group.

The complaint is grounded in civil rights law, legal trust governance, and evidence including the cease and desist letter itself.

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📄 You can read the full Title VI complaint here:

👉 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QBTi0TMTJ5tZhIVZMaSfv0xXeNfF3c_f/view?usp=drivesdk

📍 To file an exclusion or violation report regarding Juneteenth or Freedmen cultural misuse:

Visit: https://www.freedmennation.org/complaints

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This is not just about one event. It’s about whether federally funded cultural programming can continue to erase the very people it was created to honor. The Trust has taken its stand.