Thursday, February 12, 2009

The NAACP Is 100 Years Old Today - Is It Still Relevant As An Organization?

The NAACP has been spinning it's wheels for a very long time, when do we get to the point that their existence becomes more than just questionable and becomes flat-out pointless?

8 comments:

Tasasha February 12, 2009 at 2:43 PM  

The NAACP can become relevant again if people want it to be. There needs to be more young people joining with a commitment to fostering change. If the organization is really about the advancement of people of color, then they need to focus on issues affecting inner city communities. I think they need to redefine their mission and goals and mobilize the local chapters to be more involved in their respective communities.

wisdomteachesme February 12, 2009 at 5:04 PM  

i pray they become the stronghorse that they used to be.
They are greatly needed-the name and the purpose-the work is much-but the workers are few.
Their voice and numbers would open many doors.
Their time is still now-just hope the people know this.

RainaHavock February 12, 2009 at 5:27 PM  

I cosign with MusicLover. Well said.

Anonymous,  February 12, 2009 at 7:19 PM  

Good post, AJ.

I sometimes wonder if the NAACP is still relevant as well. . . .what with the way it disregards the other half of the Black community.

Ann

Kit (Keep It Trill) February 13, 2009 at 8:15 AM  

I read that link, and the most important piece was at the very end:

Mr Jealous says his main concerns are still the quality of schools, the jobs market and the quality of the justice system. But activism, too, must now be colour-blind.

I'm all for color-blind social activism, but what's the point of having a National Association of Colored People if their primary focus isn't on people of color?

Maybe he thinks this will please the Obama Administration; I don't think it's necessary or even helpful for their particular group.

Faith at Acts of Faith Blog February 15, 2009 at 1:28 PM  

Well they now want to focus on human-rights, which to me just opens the door for protecting more men and criminals if whatever they're doing brings down the wrath of a white person.

The problem is they ignore their members, but also the members who support them are Black women who give their time and money and don't ask for anything in return.

I see this as a generational issue as well as women being willing to take a back seat and hope someone else does right by them and us.

If enough of us wanted to we could take it over and make it relevant/ It can't just be about joining but about having a specific vision for what needs to be changed. It wouldn't take that long either. If everyone who gives their time and money said they wanted things to be a certain way or they'd leave it would become relevant overnight. We are throwing away our power base because we've never stepped into it.

There's a lot of either complaining or lamenting or saying if other people do something blah blah blah. What about YOU?

Dr. Tracey Salisbury February 15, 2009 at 2:23 PM  

@Act of Faith -

I hear you, but the NAACP will have trouble attracting new people because of it's old fashioned and good old boys network of politics. It's very difficult for average folks to get positions of power with local chapters of the NAACP. It is very political, overran with cronyism.

Despite the fact women do a lot of the work in the NAACP, men still have most of the leadership i.e. voting positions. Why haven't they had a woman as the head since Mrs. Evers?

It's the age old problem with black people, they say they want change, but cling to their old ways of doing things, making it impossible to make changes.

Faith at Acts of Faith Blog February 15, 2009 at 9:29 PM  

I agree. There needs to be Black women stepping into those positions of power who are qualified and ready to go. I still say that regardless of all the politics if Black women withdrew their financial support and free time who'd be left? Those men in charge are running things because the women decided to take a back seat - just like with churches. If the men want to run things let them do all of the work, the grunt work and spend their money and resources instead of cheesy for the cameras and saying they're in charge. And get rid of Julian Bond once and for all. Or start a new organization, but I think it would be better to just do a take-over. If enough women wanted to do it, it would get done.

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