By Dianne Anderson

Anyone with any history with Donald Craig  doesn’t  have to think twice about some of his best qualities – he never met a stranger,  he  was always considerate and  never  stopped fighting for people in need.

Even when times were hard, and up until last month, he was still on the phone pushing for housing rights.

Mr. Craig passed away last week. He was 68.

Wellington Bennett, who served with Craig for decades as part of the Orange County NAACP, said he was a respected community icon who moved the county forward in too many ways to count.

He said Craig was a diligent advocate,  that he  loved what the NAACP stood for, and tried to help others stand with him, no matter their disposition.

“He was a true leader. One thing I perceived about him is that he made everyone around him comfortable, even those  people with a negative attitude. He made them feel comfortable, he  would place them with people that could tolerate them,”  he said.

Bennett said he always tried to  make sure  everyone felt  valued,  and that no one felt  bad.

“He let everybody know that everybody was part of the group. He was kind, gentle, cared for people, always willing to share. He was very proactive towards  people’s  feelings,”  he said.

Craig had talked about how his father lived in Alabama in the era of the Birmingham  bombing,  and how the experience impacted his life in the push for civil rights.

“I think he developed that from seeing his father  being involved. I can remember my first year back [to Orange County], he said  you’ve  had all that political push  and  you know what  it’s like on the hill. You can come back,” said Jessie Allen, who had worked in Washington  D.C. on legislation for many years.

Allen grew up next door to the Craig family from when he was in Junior High School until he was married. Their families, socially close, lived in the periphery of  “Little Texas,” in a cul de sac near several schools as his dad was also a teacher.

She  described Craig as a true community  leader,  who helped gently push others to serve the community.

“I  think his tenure with the NAACP pushed him further. I noticed when he moved to North Virginia, he got right into it. He  didn’t  miss a beat,”  she said.

Yvonne Peeples, also a long-time local NAACP member, said that Craig, while mild-mannered, was assertive in his own way.

“Whenever there was a protest, he would be there  and  sometimes we would meet  up. We would  just  happen to be in the same place,”  she  said.  “Anytime anybody called him and said they needed assistance with something,  or  somebody, or they were having problems, he  would be there.”

He was concerned about community health and providing access to Black healthcare resources.

Health advocate Ernesta Wright said  that  Craig’s  dedication to resources was obvious throughout his leadership. Together, they collaborated on several health-related projects and outreach over the years.

“He was very active in the community, he  really cared.  I noticed on Facebook and postings that even in the town he moved to, he was very involved.  That’s  the model for all of us to follow,” said Wright of the GREEN Foundation.  “He was always doing something.”

In past interviews with the Tri-County Bulletin, Craig spoke of dealing with racist incidents throughout the county, including school fights  as  a source of many complaints that he received. Parents always  looked for  help to stand against  county  and  district school administrators who let discrimination and name-calling complaints go unresolved.

After his second election in 2006 as the local branch president, he boasted about the NAACP as a nationally recognized organization that tackled the  hard  problems, including federal lawsuits in severe cases.

“You’d  be surprised by the number of issues just in Orange County school districts that we have. Parents call in saying that their children are  being discriminated  against,”  he said in the interview.  “We want to live in this community. We want a good education for our kids. We have a right to be here and protect our children while  they’re  in class.”

Teddie Carr, local branch secretary for several years, attended Craig’s Celebration of Life service last week in Washington DC at the Metropolitan AME Church, where he was also a member.

She recalls how he worked with everyone, always building bridges. Later, at her recommendation, he got involved with the Elks Lodge in Garden Grove, where he became an officer  there  and  they  hosted a successful Juneteenth event at what had been an all-white establishment up to that point.

For as  far back  as she can remember, she said Craig worked Juneteenth in Orange County. He never had a problem mixing and mingling.

No matter the  race, his magnetic personality shone through  and  his Celebration of Life service reflected his love of people everywhere. They came out from wide and far, representing many ethnicities and organizations.

Diversity abounded, including white groups, climate change organizations, and  the Jewish community. When  he  was in California, he worked with Hispanics, Asians, and Hawaiians, and they all turned out.

“He was always active, even from his hospital bed,  he  was there  trying to help [at-risk] homeowners. The pastor said from his sickbed that he was still making phone calls,”  she said.  “He was truly a humanitarian.”

Early on, Craig had convinced her to become a secretary for the local branch, a responsibility that she felt was too much to handle, but he was a steadfast mentor.

“He said  you’re  underestimating yourself. He supported me, and I became that secretary,” she said.

Wherever he lived, his dedication traveled. During COVID-19, while he was in Virginia, he went to  the church and held food banks at five in the morning.

“He took masks to the  children’s  hospitals here in the area. He had heard that  they were wearing the same masks so he had a mask drive and glove drive for the doctors and nurses. He just kept going,”  she said.

Before the 2016 Presidential election, he talked about voting rights, the ever heightened threat to the Black vote, the Trump campaign and the risk to democracy facing the nation.

Back then, he said  “terrible things”  were going on with the Trump campaign, but the NAACP  nationally  and  locally  were pushing voter education and registration.

“Just call it what it is,  it’s  a racist tactic to get weak-minded people a stand to rally around,”  Craig  had said.

Because the NAACP is nonpartisan, he said that historically, they reached out to get both sides of debates, but Republican candidates, although invited, never came out.

Craig had looked to Black groups, churches and nonprofits to  band together in  the fight against growing voter apathy. He believed walking the precincts and phone banking could impact the presidential race.

He stressed that the community could not leave the presidency to chance.

“It’s  so crazy how people are rallying around Trump.  He’s  saying stuff that they want to  say,  or afraid to say,”  Craig said.  “Now they are getting more behind it, and  it’s  stirring  up so much tension.”