THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 18, 1995 TAG: 9512140018
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: BY JOHN L. HORTON
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
With the unanimous appointment on Dec. 9 of Kweisi Mfume as NAACP president and chief executive officer, one might ask, ``What next for the NAACP?''
Representative Mfume, 47, D-Md., will resign from Congress and begin his official NAACP duties on Feb. 15. Most observers agree that Mfume has a challenging and difficult job ahead as the operational leader of the NAACP.
The venerable NAACP, the nation's oldest civil-rights organization, is at a crossroads of great magnitude. It is faced with a leadership void, budget deficit, stagnant membership, negative public image in some quarters and a loss of corporate support, among a host of internal and external ailments. Moreover, its very purpose and direction are being questioned by supporters and critics alike.
Under the leadership of its previous executive director, Benjamin Chavis, the NAACP reached out to other ethnic minorities (Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, etc.), the Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan, so-called gangsta rappers, inner-city gang members and the like. This was an effort to broaden and expand its base of support and service.
Basically, there is an ongoing struggle over who should be in membership, partnership and leadership of the NAACP. In short, should the NAACP's role and direction be decided by African Americans only or should these vital leadership decisions be influenced and impacted by external forces, such as Corporate America, Jewish Americans and other important contributors to and supporters of the NAACP?
I dare say that the NAACP finds itself in this debilitating position because of the overriding fact of life: ``You have to pay the cost to be the boss.'' It is as simple as that. For the NAACP to become a solely black controlled and operated entity, it must have far more substantial financial and volunteer support from the overall African-American community, especially from those individuals and groups that want to have a say in its (new) direction and purpose.
Depending on whose figures one uses, the NAACP's paid membership is between 350,000 and 650,000. In my opinion, either membership count is too low to be meaningful and effective. Based on its outstanding civil- and human-rights record alone, the NAACP should have several million dues-paying members, among African Americans in particular.
Remembering the truth and wisdom of Paul Robeson's words, ``We must realize that our future lies chiefly in our own hands. We know that neither institution nor friends can make a race stand unless it has strength in its own foundation; that races like individuals must stand or fall by their own merit; that to fully succeed they must practice the virtues of self-reliance, self-respect, industry, perseverance and economy . . .. '' In short, Paul Robeson was - and still is - right about this matter of great concern to African Americans and all well-meaning Americans.
In order to survive and be useful in the 21st century, the NAACP must gather supporters and members from a more diverse population base. Among other factions, it must include inner-city youths, low-income families, various minority ethnic groups, middle class and upscale Americans and Corporate America.
If it truly desires independence and autonomy, the NAACP must be substantially supported, financially and otherwise, by its core constituency, African Americans. It must be understood, ``that to be the boss, we have to pay (our) cost'' in terms of active participation and meaningful financial support. To repeat Paul Robeson's eloquent words in today's youth language, ``If you talk that talk you have to walk that walk.'' That is the only way by which the NAACP will be able to adequately address the needs and ambitions of the alienated, impoverished and disillusioned within our youths, families and communities.
Only then will the NAACP be able to fulfill its leadership role(s) and organizational objectives for the 21st century. Only then will the NAACP be able to conceive and enact those ``three arts of life and survival'' for its diverse and eclectic membership: (1) the art of cohesiveness (to recognize and neutralize ``enemies'' from within and without); (2) the art of commerce (to develop and improve upon the skills of labor, business, trade and entrepreneurship); and (3) the art of capitalization (to effectuate a competence in goods and services production, financial investment and economic empowerment).
I find it fitting to end with the eloquent and wise words of one Frederick Douglass, ``. . .A man may not get all that he pays for, but he must certainly pay for all that he gets. . . .'' This, too, is the way now for the venerable NAACP. MEMO: Mr. Horton, a Norfolk resident, described himself as a concerned
citizen. by CNB