struggle continues, The

We ended 2000 with some successes and entered the new millennium facing great challenges.

In partnership with the NAACP National Voter Fund, we educated and mobilized unprecedented numbers of AfricanAmerican voters on Election Day. Turnout was up significantly in battleground states and in most elections, pro-civil rights candidates won and harmful initiatives were defeated.

We finished 2000 with a treasury surplus - our third in as many years. Our Branches are re-invigorated.

The NAACP has reclaimed its position as America's premier civil rights organization. In an early December 2000 poll, the NAACP enjoyed an 84 percent favorability rating from black respondents.

But we face significant challenges in 2001: a President against whom 9 of every 10 black voters cast their ballots, Congressional leadership hostile to civil rights, and a public that rates civil rights low on its lists of concerns.

Our response must be to turn disappointment into decisive deeds and anger into action, making our organization more effective and making sure our voices are heard.

The NAACP Board of Directors is working to put the Strategic Plan adopted last year into effect, sharpening our focus on social justice. We will emerge with a heightened concentration on fighting the disease of racism instead of merely addressing symptoms.

Many organizations provide social service; we are among the few that fight for social justice.

Despite significant advances, bigotry and racism continue to limit life chances for African Americans, casting a shadow over our future. On the last day of 2000, a major business agreed to pay $10.1 million to settle claims of racial discrimination. Innumerable other acts of injustice go unnoticed and unpunished. Too many victims never receive compensation or redress.

We must increase our oversight of public and private sector services, employment, and spending, guaranteeing people of color their fair share.

Thirty-five years after the Voting Rights Act became law, black and other minority Americans found their right to vote denied and their right to have their votes fairly counted ignored across the nation. Through vigorous advocacy, we must insure that the theft of votes that occurred last year never happens again.

Important elections for state and local office will be held across America this year. We must mount aggressive voter registration and non-partisan education drives in every community. We must monitor the redistricting process from city council and county commission levels to statehouses to the Congress of the United States, insuring that fair counts of all citizens are used to distribute legislative seats. We'll watchdog appointments of judges and other officials at all levels, seeking to insure these nominees are representative of the total community and committed to justice and fair play. We must hold all newly elected and incumbent office-holders responsible for their actions - and remind them that the votes they cast will be remembered next Election Day.

They cannot celebrate Dr. King's birthday in January and vote to destroy his dream the rest of the year.

We have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies - only permanent interests.

In health care, education, the justice system, business and labor, we intend to continue as guardians of right and enemies of wrong.

We must increase our efforts at coalition building. Just as we demand fair representation from public officials, we must insist on it in our own ranks. We cannot draw our membership and leadership only from a single church or fraternity or lodge, neglecting and rejecting those whose skills, talents and energies could make a strong NAACP even stronger. In the NAACP, we believe that colored people come in all colors - there are no barriers to membership and participation in our organization.

All who share our values are welcome and all are needed.

Copyright Crisis Publishing Company, Incorporated Jan/Feb 2001
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