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July 14, 2010
Will You Give NAACP a Second Chance in the 21st Century
NAACP is hosting their annual conference this week in Kansas City. First Lady Michelle Obama made a presentation there the other day. NAACP is working hard to update their online presence on the various social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It appears that the new leadership is working hard to make the NAACP relevant in the 21st century.
NAACP Chairman Roslyn Brock stepped up to the podium to give a speech about the future of the NAACP on Sunday. Take some time to listen to what this young and powerful sister had to say:
What say u? Will you give NAACP a second chance to serve you and your community in the 21st century?
I wanted to be encouraged by this speech, but color me totally unimpressed. Black folk catching hell and she's touting school snack programs? Constant focus on the wrongs done to us, not nearly enough of anything about problem solving in our communities.
Here's the problem; the NAACP does not have a true strategic vision about what their purpose is. They are aligned with the democrats and with the White House and essentially have signed up to be a tool of the administration's policy aims. I heard a whole lot about healthcare but can someone tell me when the NAACP became healthcare experts and champions?
She's merely cosigning the administration's legislative objectives and pledging the NAACP to work on it. But they don't have an original thought going here. I didn't hear anything about what the NAACP thinks ought to happen on the issues, I just heard parroting of the administration's ideas. Black activist organizations and figures from Sharpton to the NAACP have been co-opted by Obama and politically lobotomized. The speech was heavy on platitudes, way light on substance.
The really bad news? This rudderless organization has signed up to be the shock troops of Obama and declared war on the Tea Party right in what is really a transparent bid to ignite an underwhelmed democratic electorate for the midterms. Thats not a good look. Because I guarantee you there is enough foolishness, bad management and worse to be found going on in and around the NAACP to quickly hoist them on their own petard. The NAACP had better be careful that they don't get ACORNED out of existence. The Tea Party are the right's shock troops and their special ops teams play real rough.
The bottom line question for NAACP and other Black Establishment organizations is: Is their model of the issues and forces bearing down and which could lift up the Black community ACCURATE to the real world truth?
Absent a model with such fidelity it is impossible for the ENTIRE establishment order to apply proper management to the human resources within.
I have my own opinions as I note how ideological bias can cause a certain limitation of one's field of vision. Add to it the lack of a transparent overlay which can confirm the efficacy of their actions (and antics). This leaves us what we have today:
A group of operatives that can pursue the angles that best matches their positioning and ability to make indictments.
The pertinent issues remain unaddressed and this said group is forced to find some angle by which Blacks can get unified over.
We don't need "unity" we need a system of management by which conflict and ideological disagreement can be channeled into corrective actions to sustain forward progress.
Aaron & Constructive Feedback - I appreciate the candid and comprehensive feedback from each of you. I hope that others will join the discussion.
I tend to think that the NAACP took up the Tea Party issue as a means to get publicity more than it being something that needed to be done for the advancement of Black people.
I would prefer the NAACP to focus on areas where they have expertise, like voter registration or legal challenges against laws, rules and regulations that oppress the Black community.
At the end of the day, I suspect that the strength of the NAACP is at the local branch level.
Have either of you been NAACP members in the past? or currently?
Never been a member, largely because they have never done anything in my adult life that I thought was relevant enough to make me want to join their membership ranks. In fact the opposite, when you look at the debacle of their involvement in the horrific Dunbar Village gang rape case for example. At this rate, still no reason to join.
5 comments:
I wanted to be encouraged by this speech, but color me totally unimpressed. Black folk catching hell and she's touting school snack programs? Constant focus on the wrongs done to us, not nearly enough of anything about problem solving in our communities.
Here's the problem; the NAACP does not have a true strategic vision about what their purpose is. They are aligned with the democrats and with the White House and essentially have signed up to be a tool of the administration's policy aims. I heard a whole lot about healthcare but can someone tell me when the NAACP became healthcare experts and champions?
She's merely cosigning the administration's legislative objectives and pledging the NAACP to work on it. But they don't have an original thought going here. I didn't hear anything about what the NAACP thinks ought to happen on the issues, I just heard parroting of the administration's ideas. Black activist organizations and figures from Sharpton to the NAACP have been co-opted by Obama and politically lobotomized. The speech was heavy on platitudes, way light on substance.
The really bad news? This rudderless organization has signed up to be the shock troops of Obama and declared war on the Tea Party right in what is really a transparent bid to ignite an underwhelmed democratic electorate for the midterms. Thats not a good look. Because I guarantee you there is enough foolishness, bad management and worse to be found going on in and around the NAACP to quickly hoist them on their own petard. The NAACP had better be careful that they don't get ACORNED out of existence. The Tea Party are the right's shock troops and their special ops teams play real rough.
Aaron + Alaine:
Yeah - what he/she said!
The bottom line question for NAACP and other Black Establishment organizations is: Is their model of the issues and forces bearing down and which could lift up the Black community ACCURATE to the real world truth?
Absent a model with such fidelity it is impossible for the ENTIRE establishment order to apply proper management to the human resources within.
I have my own opinions as I note how ideological bias can cause a certain limitation of one's field of vision. Add to it the lack of a transparent overlay which can confirm the efficacy of their actions (and antics). This leaves us what we have today:
A group of operatives that can pursue the angles that best matches their positioning and ability to make indictments.
The pertinent issues remain unaddressed and this said group is forced to find some angle by which Blacks can get unified over.
We don't need "unity" we need a system of management by which conflict and ideological disagreement can be channeled into corrective actions to sustain forward progress.
Aaron & Constructive Feedback - I appreciate the candid and comprehensive feedback from each of you. I hope that others will join the discussion.
I tend to think that the NAACP took up the Tea Party issue as a means to get publicity more than it being something that needed to be done for the advancement of Black people.
I would prefer the NAACP to focus on areas where they have expertise, like voter registration or legal challenges against laws, rules and regulations that oppress the Black community.
At the end of the day, I suspect that the strength of the NAACP is at the local branch level.
Have either of you been NAACP members in the past? or currently?
Never been a member, largely because they have never done anything in my adult life that I thought was relevant enough to make me want to join their membership ranks. In fact the opposite, when you look at the debacle of their involvement in the horrific Dunbar Village gang rape case for example. At this rate, still no reason to join.
Aaron - Point well taken. I keep meaning to join the NAACP Cincinnati Branch ... but, I haven't done so yet.
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