NAACP's new office opens
in Terre Haute

Terre Haute, Ind. (WTHI) - The Terre Haute NAACP ushered in 2009 with a ribbon cutting at its new headquarters at 6th and Wabash in downtown Terre Haute.

For the last few years, the Terre Haute NAACP has not had an office for the public.

On Sunday, members finally celebrated the opening of their long awaited headquarters.

Those in attendance had high hopes and expectations of the new board, also sworn in Sunday.

"A lot of times there's groups out there doing a lot of hard work behind the scenes and you really don't see them," said Terre Haute Mayor, Duke Bennett. "It appears this board is going to take the proactive approach to be more public be more visible."

New chapter president, Allegra Allen, agreed, saying under her leadership the organization will be more active than in years past.

"We're going to step it up 100%," said Allen. "You're going to see us, if at all possible, be united with other organizations throughout the community."

Allen is already planning a busy year for the Terre Haute Branch.

She said the organization is here to ensure everyone's civil rights.

It's also here for the betterment of the community.

"We want to protect our youth," said Allen. "We want to expand our education area, possibly try to get a preschool NAACP unit started."

Allen said the response has been positive.

"I've had more people just stop me and say, 'Thumbs up. We're ready to go. We're glad to see a new change come about,'" said Allen.

The Terre Haute NAACP is located at 618 Wabash Street in Terre Haute. The organization's telephone number is 812-235-8555.