100 Years of the NAACP, and That’s More Than Enough
When my great aunt turned 100 years old, I asked her how she managed to stay alive for so long. She said, “a cocktail everyday, a good attitude and never being afraid of change.” She passed away a few years ago, but she was a woman full of life who could inspire you to do great things. She was also a no-nonsense woman and didn’t take excuses for bad behavior. The NAACP could have learned a lot from my aunt.
The organization marked its 100th anniversary this week and got visits from both President Barack Obama and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. It says quite a bit that both the President and the leader of the loyal opposition are both African-American, because 25 years ago, both scenarios would have been very unlikely. Both both men show progress has been made in political arena and it’s time for organizations like the NAACP to change or die.
It was one thing to fight for education back in the 1950s with the landmark Brown v. Board of Education, but now organizations like the NAACP tend to oppose vouchers and school choice which would uplift millions of Black children out of failing schools.
The NAACP says it wants to protect voters from disenfranchisement, but when the polls in Marion County didn’t open in the May 2007 primary and more than 3100 voters were locked out of the polls, the local organization was absolutely nowhere to be found. But it was extremely vocal on the issue of Voter ID where the plaintiffs couldn’t produce one victim of disenfranchisement.
Even in cases of alleged racial discrimination, bad press and a 24-hour news cycle are more likely to call wrongdoers on the carpet and get corrective measures taken than the NAACP.
When I look at the status of Black America, more Blacks graduating from college, earning higher incomes, running Fortune 500 companies and a Black President and head of the RNC, I truly have to wonder why the NAACP is still needed?
And if the NAACP isn’t going to go away gently into that good night, the very least they could change the organization’s name to the National Association for the Advancement of African-Americans! NAAAA, just go away.
