President Barack Obama made his historic trek to Ghana this weekend — the first trip to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office. As part of the visit, the First Family stood in the “Door of No Return” at Cape Coast Castle, a horrid port where black men and women were held in dungeons before boarding slave ships in shackles. Moved by the moment, Obama said: “As painful as it is, I think that it helps to teach all of us that we have to do what we can to fight against the kinds of evils that, sadly, still exist in our world.”
On Sunday, thousands of miles away in the village of Harlem, New York, Gov. David Paterson, the first African American to occupy New York’s statehouse, hosted an event that served as a tribute to the descendants of those enslaved Africans who had to fight “evils” on American shores. In the Great Hall at The City College of New York, he hosted a reception to help kick off a week-long convention that will commemorate the centennial anniversary of the NAACP. Under the theme, “Bold Dreams, Big Victories,” the event attracted conference attendees as well as leading civil rights and political leaders like Rev. Al Sharpton, House Ways and Means Chair Rep. Charles Rangel, former New York Mayor David Dinkins, New york City Controller and mayoral hopeful William C. Thompson, Jr., NAACP’s New York Chapter President Hazel Dukes, and Benjamin Jealous, the 36-year-old former community organizer who last year became the youngest person to run the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.
As the series of speakers spoke at the podium, each recounted the organization’s history and communicated its vital role in advancing African Americans over the past 100 years. Led by such activists as W.E.B. DuBois and Ida Barnett Wells, the organization was started In 1909 in response to the lynchings of African Americans and defense of blacks’ constitutional rights that had been stripped by Jim Crow laws.
Paterson told the crowd: “The NAACP was established on February 12th of that year, the
100th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the president who freed the slaves with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The NAACP was the response to the violence being felt by blacks all over the country through hangings, murders and vicious attacks. It was a reminder to America that we were supposed to be free.”He added, “The NAACP has always stood for economic, political and social justice. That’s why we have an African American as president of the United States. As governor of this state at the only time when two African American governors are in office at same time, it could not have been possible without you.”
Jealous echoed Paterson’s sentiment, citing the NAACP’s century-long fight for racial equality. The organization won hard-fought battles that desegregated the Armed Forces and educational institutions; enabled blacks to gain positions in corporate America; and hold political office. Maintained Jealous:”Ultimately, those actions paved the way for Xerox’s Ursula Burns to become the first black woman to head a Fortune 500 corporation and for American Express CEO Ken Chenault and Citigroup Chairman Dick Parsons to lead major corporations. The NAACP represents the best long-term investment this country has known.”
For years, however, there have been questions about the NAACP’s relevance — especially among young blacks, some of whom are Jealous’ contemporaries. In talking with the organization’s new leader a few months ago, I asked him how he responds to such commentary. He told me that the focus of today’s NAACP would include the development of programs to reverse the high incarceration rate of black males, halt predatory lending practices, combat environmental racism and provide access to educational opportunities for impoverished youth — all topics on the convention’s week-long agenda.
At our hour-long meeting, he admitted that re-energizing the organization and recruiting new members would be a daunting challenge. But he plans to connect with new members by promoting the value of service and developing a digital outreach effort.
Organizations like the NAACP will remain relevant by squarely dealing with issues that African Americans face in 21st Century America with a
21st Century approach. Even the Obama Administration has narrow its broad-based efforts on some issues and has begun to focus on programs targeted at blacks: for example, in the past two weeks, it has held summits on poverty and its impact on African American children and minority businesses development. (Since Paterson assumed the governorship roughly 18 months ago, he has increased minority procurement among New York state agencies from 5 percent to 25 percent.)But there’s a key component to making the NAACP relevant: you. Instead of criticizing such outfits, we need to join and help bolster them–yes, I’m renewing my membership. By doing so, we can play a hands-on role in solving the problems confronting our communities as well as shape the agenda for the next 100 years. We can ensure that our long-term investment pays huge dividends in our economic, political and social advancement. To paraphrase Obama, we must do what we can to win our fight.
Derek T. Dingle is the editor-in-chief of Black Enterprise magazine.