TOLEDO, Ohio — Long-time president of the Toledo Branch NAACP, Ray Wood, says he is retiring, and a new leader of the organization has already been selected to take his place.
Wood says he is looking forward to spending time with his family.
He will be replaced by Pastor Willie Perryman.
"Every now and then you have to realize you have to pass the baton. And let someone else take it to another level," said outgoing NAACP President, Ray Wood.
Wood has been president of the local NAACP since 2013. He says he is proud of the organization's progress and collaboration with city leaders to enact change.
Wood was already the leader of the United Auto Workers Local 14 since 2007, when he assumed the new role.
Wood led Toledo’s chapter of the civil rights organization through a tumultuous time for race relations in the city, particularly as the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police led to tension in Toledo between community members and the city’s police department.
In 2018, Wood was named in a case by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission against General Motors after nooses were hung in the workplace at the Toledo Powertrain Plant in Toledo.
Willie Perrymen has been elected to take on the role of president of the Toledo NAACP.
Perrymen is the lead pastor at Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church on Dorr Street.
"I think I'm ready for the challenge, I'm looking forward and I'm going to just ask everyone for their support that we may heal our community where it's needed," said incoming NAACP President, Willie Perryman.
The Toledo-raised pastor has spent than two dozen years in ministry and says he hopes to bring some attention back to the church because that's where the civil rights movement began.
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"The church is where people of color and minorities can come to for assistance. They can come to get answers. So I want to bring the church back into focus," said Perryman.
With civil rights coming to the forefront of many conversations across America and here in Toledo, both Wood and Perryman are proud of the growth that's been made, but say it's still not enough.
"What we have to do is work together. It's a work in progress. For every step forward, we've taken two, sometimes three back," said Wood.
Perryman agreed, there is more work to be done.
"Let's just admit it, there has to be reform. And even though we may see some strides in our community, there's more reform that must be made," said Willie Perryman.
The incoming President says the first calls in his new role will be to city officials to work toward making more changes in our community.