Earlier this month the head of the NAACP, Bruce S. Gordon, resigned after just 19 months on the job. His reasons included a difference of opinion with board members over the mission of the organization. In an op-ed in last Wednesday's Washington Post, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., and Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., called this a critical impasse for the civil rights organization. They argue that we've entered a "post-civil-rights age that requires" new strategies. And they want the NAACP to move beyond just advocacy, and to address "the social and moral crisis faced by African American children." Mr. Glaude joins us on the Opinion Page today to tell us what he hopes to see happen, and why.
Blog Of The Nation
The NAACP has become an anacronism,an old worn out relic of the past.The NAACP is hurting blacks instead of helping them.Many blacks ahve decided that they need to start speaking for themselves,on their own behalf instead of depending on someone who may not have their best interest at heart
In the aftermath of the levees breaking in New Orleans, Gordon made the NAACP more relevant to me as a 23-year old African-American. The NAACP should use its powerful name and history to take practical actions rather than being strictly a voice box. The NAACP acted on behalf of Black Americans at a time when the government would not. If the NAACP is determined to fight for justice ONLY in the courtroom, then I and my generation will have to get creative about a more member-driven AARP-style advocacy organization that helps all Black Americans. The alternative is to simply allow a few people at the top of this illustrious organization to waste its powerful name - treating it less as a alarm clock to awaken America to action, and more like a mere blanket of "black legitimacy."
The NAACP has been outdated for many years. The primary problem is thet the vision is too narrow of confined. For example, the phrase colored people is not as important as the continnued struggle of People of Color. We need to broaden and embrace humanity. It must focus on education and service.
The NAACP is in dire need of refocusing their tactics. Today in Boston there is no active chapter. My grandfather is an ex-head of the Boston chapter. Some of his primary interests were; expanding educational and housing opportunities for blacks in Boston. These endeavors are not alive and well in Boston. Also the post civil rights era has produced a brain drain from black communities since 1965. Business, schools and neighborhoods have lost their middle class occupants to suburbs. almost a black flight. The major crisis of the black community today are an overrepresented population of males in prison and HIV/AIDS. There is no leader in Boston or nationwide who has made these pressing concerns public. W.E.B. DuBois and Ida B. Wells designed this organization to adapt to the changing times, there is a need for a new Niagara conference.
PS.
please ask your callers to refrain from the "N" word, dehumanization also works.
Thank you
Vanderbilt Hagans
Comments
Discussions for this story are now closed. Please see the Community FAQ for more information.