NAACP Chair Warns Against “Forces of Regression” in America by Hazel Trice Edney

July 24, 2011

NAACP Chair Warns Against “Forces of Regression” in America

By Hazel Trice Edney

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) – In Los Angeles for the 102nd Annual Conference of the NAACP, Chairman Roslyn Brock warned thousands of delegates that historic “forces of regression” are still fighting vigorously to damage civil rights gains.

“The mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. Our vision is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race,” Brock reminded in prepared remarks Sunday evening. “For more than a century we've been on a journey to fulfill this mission; not because we want to ‘stay in business.’ We're on this journey because forces of regression in our nation are doing everything in their power to erode civil rights successes.”

At the age of 44 two years ago, Brock succeeded civil rights icon Julian Bond by becoming the NAACP’s youngest chairman. Though of a new generation, she once again debunked the myth that America is in a ‘post racial’ state. Responding to a scene in the movie, “The Help”, which will debut August 10, she repeatedly urged the audience, ‘Courage must not skip this generation!’”

She continued, “The social and economic challenges we face today are real - not figments of our imaginations. The NAACP is committed to maintain in the fight for justice and equality by protecting the victories our forefathers and mothers died to secure.”

Among the evidence that the struggle for Black progress is still a dire necessity, Brock ticked off a list of key issues, illustrating the courage of which she spoke:

  • About new voting laws that activists have decried as racially restrictive: “After decades of progress to open up access and make it easier for all Americans to vote, state legislatures in Wisconsin, Ohio, Kansas, and Florida are putting into place a web of suppressive and restrictive laws to make it harder if not impossible for many to vote: longer residency requirements, photo Ids and shorter voting periods. Fourteen of the 29 states with ID requirements are trying to make them more stringent. Are these updated versions of the poll tax? Or as President Clinton suggests, Is this a return to Jim Crow? We must re-double our efforts to reverse this pernicious trend.”
  • About the disproportionate impact of the economic crisis on African-Americans: “The meltdown of America's economic system in 2008 was a tremendous shock and sent a body blow to the entire country. We bailed out those who had gambled with our money in order to stabilize the economy for everyone. But while Wall Street is booming again, those of us on Main Street and the rest of us on the side street can get no relief or support. Across the country, black, brown and poor communities are suffering from disproportionately high unemployment, foreclosure, and dislocation,” she said. “If we do nothing, The Center for Responsible Lending calculates that an estimated 1.1 million Black families will lose their homes by 2012.”
  • About the fight against Charter Schools in New York City: “When you read that the NAACP is suing New York City over the issue of charter schools, it is not because we are opposed to charter schools. It is because we have come too far and struggled too long to let resources be distributed in a way that amply funds charter schools while starving traditional public schools, which are sometimes located in the very same building. Our priorities are misaligned when we invest more in developing smart phones and smart technologies then investing in developing smart children.”
  • About CNN’s new prime time anchors line up that is devoid of people of color: “The NAACP paid attention and called them into question. How can we understand the American story without embracing her rich diversity? How can we tell America's story on the small screen and the big screen unless the people doing the researching, writing, directing and acting reflect the breath of this nation's diversity. The demand for inclusion and representation is not yesterday's news.”

Issues of economic, political and educational equality are bedrock for the NAACP. Brock also hit issues of health disparities including childhood obesity, the HIV/AIDS crisis and substandard health care, which has also been a long-time concern of the 102-year-old civil rights organization.

“America's health insurance system is keeping far too many people from accessing our advanced health care system. President Obama and his administration made significant progress last year with the passage of the Affordable Care Act but even these advances are now under attack.”

NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous, now 38, was to address the crowd on Monday. Jealous also made history in 2008 as the youngest president elected to serve the organization. To roaring applause, Brock closed with a poetic reframe, promising that the new generation leadership has not and will not lapse in its courage:

“This generation who sits in the board room when our parents sat in the mailroom; This generation who sleeps in hotel suites when our parents merely swept the streets! This generation who drives Bentleys, Porsches, Mercedes and Jags, when their parents had nothing but filthy rags. Courage will not skip this generation! If you remember nothing else, remember this - The future is calling - And with courage, the NAACP will answer!”