NAACP officials say the recent travel advisory issued for the state of Missouri is the first of its kind for a state.
The advisory was originally circulated in June by the Missouri NAACP and was recently taken up by the national organization.
It comes after travel alerts began appearing in light of police shootings in the U.S.
State NAACP leaders say Missouri became the first because of legislation making discrimination lawsuits harder to win and other incidents cited as examples of harm coming to minority residents and visitors.
President of the Missouri NAACP, Rod Chapel says a few of these incidents include racial slurs against black students and the death of a man who took a wrong turn while traveling and died in a southeast Missouri jail.
“How do you come to Missouri, run out of gas and find yourself dead in a jail cell when you haven’t broken any laws? You have violations of civil rights that are happening to people. They’re being pulled over because of their skin color, they’re being beaten up or killed. We are hearing complaints at a rate we haven’t heard before.”
National NAACP delegates voted to adopt the travel advisory and will send it to the national board for ratification in October.
“The advisory is for people to be aware, and warn their families and friends and co-workers of what could happen in Missouri. People need to be ready, whether it’s bringing bail money with them, or letting relatives know they are traveling through the state.”