Weeks before news broke that two leaders of the Maryland State Conference of the NAACP were suspended, members sent a letter raising concerns about how the conference’s new leadership was spending money and running meetings.

In a letter dated July 24, obtained by The Baltimore Sun, signees alleged to the president of the national organization that state leaders were spending conference funds without prior approval or details explaining expenditures, and were leading the organization as a “dictatorship” while being disrespectful to board members and displaying “bullying behavior.”

“The Maryland State Conference cannot endure this atmosphere without the consequences becoming irreparable,” the letter said. “Due to the willful behavior of current leaders, the reputation and trust in the NAACP are being damaged at the local, state and national levels.”

The letter called for the suspension of four elected officers of the state conference, the reorganization of the body, an audit of its finances and an assigned “administrator.”

“Immediate action is necessary,” the letter said, in bold and italics.

Local news reported in recent days that two top leaders, President Kobi Little and Treasurer Joshua Harris, are suspended. Both also are active in the Baltimore City NAACP chapter. They were part of a slate of new leaders elected to the state conference late last year.

Two others, an assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, were named in the July letter that requested their suspension. It’s not clear what their status is.

The local and state chapters of the NAACP did not respond to requests for comment sent by The Baltimore Sun on Friday. Spokespeople for the national branch also did not respond to an inquiry. Neither Little nor Harris provided responses for this article.

Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, a past president of the Baltimore branch, told The Baltimore Sun on Saturday that it was his understanding both Little and Harris are suspended. Cheatham said he had signed the letter from state members laying out concerns, and called it an “Article X” letter, which he said is the complaint process used by branches.

Cheatham and others who’ve interacted with Little in the past year are “despondent” because of his “dictatorial practices,” he said. That applies not just to the state conference, but also to his leadership of the Baltimore branch, Cheatham said.

“There are questions about where the money is going. Why is he going out of town? There are issues that are here in Baltimore City that he’s not addressing, starting with the fact the branch office was burned up and he hasn’t done anything, and it’s almost been a year,” Cheatham said. “It’s questionable.”

Cheatham said the two leaders are suspended pending an investigation, stressing that he is not saying they are guilty of anything. He said a group of concerned Baltimoreans will meet on Tuesday morning to lay out their questions about the local branch’s leaders.

According to Cheatham, an election is scheduled for early November for leadership of the Baltimore branch.

Ryan Coleman, the president of the Randallstown NAACP chapter in Baltimore County, said he had also signed the letter laying out concerns.

“Everyone is innocent until proven that they’ve done something wrong,” Coleman told The Sun on Friday night. “I don’t want this action to taint the good work of the Randallstown NAACP, or the national branch, as well. That’s my concern with this situation and this being in the media, is the effect on the greater group.”

The letter signed by members of the Maryland State Conference cited an NAACP bylaw stating that the president and CEO of the national NAACP may order an officer or member “suspended pending a full hearing” if the president believes that there is “danger of irreparable harm to the association or unit involved and that immediate action is necessary.”

According to the letter, the “major issue” is how state funds are spent and reported.

It claims this year, for the first time, the budget presented by the state conference president and first vice president included an allocation of $60,000 to the president and $12,000 to each vice president.

At a June meeting, the letter adds, the assistant treasurer reported expenditures of $38,237.35 with no description or explanation. Of that, $31,654.94 was reported as “travel reimbursements,” but included no receipts.

The state conference’s balance in January was $202,114.93, it said. By the end of May, it was $122,077.99.

“If we continue on this path, the MSC will be deep in debt before the end of 2024,” the letter said.

The letter went on to detail how signees believe the state organization is “being conducted as a dictatorship.” There were no committee chairs appointed until July; board members are “not allowed to voice their opinion in meetings”; and Little refuses to let members add items to the agenda. It also stated that the president criticizes the national NAACP, accusing them of “unnecessary interference and being the source of the problems.”

“The president spends twenty to thirty minutes of each meeting talking about how bad the last administration was; how people are not supportive of ‘his’ administration; how much he and the vice presidents are [doing] in the state (with no evidence); and always talking about unity, transparency and accountability,” the letter said. “Unity to him means accepting everything he, vice presidents, and treasurer presents without questions.”

Little was elected to lead the Baltimore City NAACP chapter in 2018. He previously ran for president of the branch in 1995, during which time he staged a hunger strike over what he said was an attempt to prevent young members from voting in a branch election.

Before that, he was part of Johns Hopkins University’s NAACP chapter and served as president his senior year.

As president of the Baltimore branch, Little called last year for Mayor Brandon Scott to withdraw his police commissioner pick and do a nationwide search for candidates. Following a fire that damaged the branch office in Charles Village last October, Little pressured Scott to “step up or step aside” in dealing with the city’s vacant homes. He also in 2021 questioned the objectivity and competence of the city’s inspector general after she released a seven-month investigation into then-State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s private businesses and far-flung travels.

Harris, the state treasurer, also serves as chair of the Baltimore City Police Accountability Board, which provides civilian oversight of law enforcement.