Civil rights groups unite to plan action
By George E. Curry
Of the NNPA
CHICAGO – During Rainbow/PUSH’s annual convention, a panel of leaders was assembled to work on a common agenda. However, before moderator Ron Daniels could call on a second panelist, NAACP President Bruce Gordon had articulated what everyone would later agree was a series of common issues.
The leaders realized that what they needed was not another agenda, but a plan of action.
Outlining the goal of the session, Daniels asked: “What can we collaborate on becomes the most urgent question. How do we frame an agenda and how do we re-gain the momentum in the current climate?”
Gordon listed five key areas: education, health care, criminal justice, civic engagement and economic empowerment.
“I believe that already today, regardless of which organization we bring to the table, we’re focused on those five issues,” he said.
Sounding like a battle-weary veteran, Gordon added, “We can’t be satisfied with meetings, discussions and speeches. We need to act on them.”
Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Charles Steele Jr. agreed.
“We don’t have enough direct action,” said Steele. “That’s what got you your freedom.” The crowd applauded loudly when he urged them to “raise hell.”
Jesse Jackson outlined four targets: British Petroleum (BP), which Jackson accuses of having no blacks among its 800 gasoline distributors and less than 1 percent blacks among its senior managers (figures the firm rejects); CNN; unrepresentative trade unions; and the Supreme Court, which must preserve affirmative action.
BP was one of the sponsors of this year’s convention. Jackson said he was signaling to corporations that financial support of Rainbow/PUSH does not buy his silence.
The threatened boycott of CNN also makes a statement to companies headed by black CEOs, putting them on notice that they will not be exempt because of their chief executive’s race. Richard Parsons is the African American who serves as CEO of Time-Warner.
Jackson complained to Parsons about “the patterns of exclusion in front of the camera and behind the scenes – from booking and talent producers, executive producers, anchors and hosts, commentators and guests” as well as issues discussed on-air.
Jackson said, “If we continue to be tuned out and locked out, we are prepared to engage in a view out.”
Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the issues outlined by Gordon have been longtime staples of the CBC.
In each category, Watt said, African Americans need to focus on racial disparities. He said blacks are overrepresented in every health category except one. “We still commit suicide less than white people,” he said, “and we’re closing in on that from the wrong direction.”
Barbara R. Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, urged everyone to concentrate on election reform. She strongly urged the groups to push for election-day voter registration.
“Nine states already have it,” she stated. “Guess what? They have the highest voter turnout in the country.” While most states struggle to reach the 50 percent mark, Arnwine said voting jumps to 65 to 70 percent in states that allow same-day registration.
Theodore Shaw, director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said his and Arnwine’s groups, among others, would fight in the courts and that others should focus on action outside of the courts.
“We cannot win legal battles these days unless we change the political context,” Shaw said.
“Law without political struggle is like a ship without water – it’s not going anywhere. What we need more than anything else is a movement – give it to us.”
NAACP admits inflated numbers
The NAACP, which has claimed an inflated 500,000 members for 60 years, has announced a new membership drive to finally reach that goal.
“We’re flat. We’re not where we need to be. Civil rights should be a growth business because there are a lot of conditions in this country that require it,” says Bruce Gordon, nearing his first year as president.
For years, the NAACP has inflated its membership numbers, according to sources that have seen membership records. The last four executive directors/presidents – Benjamin L. Hooks, Kweisi Mfume, Ben Chavis and Gordon – have cited a membership level of 500,000. However, sources with direct knowledge of the figures, say the actual number fluctuates between 150,000 and 250,000 members.
Gordon says he has confirmed an active membership of less than 300,000 after ordering a methodical search of membership data.
In recent years, under Chavis and Mfume, the NAACP has announced membership drives. A year ago, the NAACP announced a billboard campaign in 46 states. There was no tangible evidence that the drive significantly increased the membership.
Some critics doubt whether this new drive will do much good, given its brief duration. It began June 1 and ends with the opening of the national convention, July 15-20, in Washington, D.C.
Campaign director Brooke McCauley says that all 1,600 adult NAACP branches and 400 youth and college units are being challenged to aggressively and creatively recruit new membership.
– Hazel Trice Edney, NNPA