Allentown branch fosters racial harmony

Allentown, Pa., stretches along a strip of the East Coast dominated by such powerhouse cities as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Thanks to its NAACP branch, however, Allentown is standing up for its minority residents and standing out among its larger urban neighbors.

Daniel Bosket, now in his sixth year as branch president, notes that while Allentown may not be as well-known as New York or Washington, its ethnically diverse population makes the work of the NAACP crucial for fostering racial harmony and equal opportunity.

According to the 2000 Census, Allentown is 9 percent Black, 3 percent Asian, 76 percent white and 24 percent Latino (also included in other categories). "This is a diverse area," Bosket says, "not just with minorities but [also] within the Caucasian population."

In recent months, the Allentown NAACP has been working to ensure a quality education for children of all colors in the city. In 2000, the Allentown School District, the third-largest in Pennsylvania, was placed on the state's list of distressed school districts when student test scores fell below the state average. An 11-member Empowerment Team, which included longtime Allentown NAACP executive board member Linda Renick, was assembled to devise a plan to remedy the district's problems. The team's recommendations include providing more tutoring to students and diversity training to teachers, standardizing teaching methods and textbook selection from school to school, improving student attendance and focusing on preparation for state testing in middle school.

The plan was submitted in May 2001, and Bosket promises that the NAACP will be on hand in the coming months to ensure its implementation, a duty that is only one facet of the branch's commitment to Allentown's young people. The branch also plans to attend monthly school district meetings and "ask questions, put it on the table, look for frequent reports of what's going on," Bosket says.

The branch's work in Allentown extends to providing opportunities for the city's adults as well. The city of Allentown regularly notifies the branch of employment openings in local government, and NAACP members publicize the openings in the hopes of increasing minority representation in city offices.

The branch's close ties to the community make it an ideal employment recruiter for the city. "We can help find the most qualified people and encourage [them] to send applications," Bosket says.

Efforts to spread awareness of minority issues in city government scored a big success in January when Allentown city offices closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the first time. The successful holiday observance was the culmination of several years of lobbying by the local NAACP and the Allentown Human Relations Commission. The branch celebrated with a program of speakers that included Allentown's new mayor, Roy C. Afflerbach.

"The NAACP made it important and made sure it was an issue that did not simply go away but had to be dealt with," says Nicholas Butterfield, a city human relations officer. "We were thrilled and privileged to be part of the celebration - it could not be stopped."

The coming months will find the Allentown NAACP busily preparing for its Freedom Fund Dinner on July 27 and selecting competitors for ACT-SO competition at the annual NAACP convention.

Copyright Crisis Publishing Company, Incorporated Mar/Apr 2002
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