The New Faces of NAACP

The NAACP is bringing a new look and feel to the game. More gay and diverse people are joining and gaining leadership positions.

"This is the new NAACP," said Clark University political science professor Ravi Perry, the new chapter president in Worcester. "This is a human rights organization, and we have an obligation to fight discrimination at all levels."

NAACP branches have been recruiting gays, immigrants and young people who grew up in a world far removed from the landmark 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that outlawed school segregation. Now, leadership positions that were once held only by blacks are being filled by members of other racial or ethnic groups.

The group does not keep track of numbers, but in recent years NAACP chapters in New Jersey, Connecticut and Georgia have elected Hispanics as president. A white man was picked to lead the chapter in Aiken, S.C. And two years ago, NAACP members in Hamtramck, Mich., a Detroit suburb, selected a Bangladeshi American to revive their long-dormant chapter.

"Some people mentioned that it wouldn't be possible for me to be president," said Victor Diaz, 32, a Dominican American who ran against an incumbent and was elected president of the Waterbury, Conn., branch in November. "But when I ran, I won 3 to 1."

Some worry that this new NAACP will move away from the classic Black issues. However, NAACP wants to end discrimination towards all people of color, so to be real, this is a natural changing of the tide.

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NAACP Worcester elects an Openly Gay Chapter President

Great news! The NAACP in Worcester, MA has elected Ravi Perry, an openly gay man, as the new president of its chapter. 

Ravi Perry, a political science professor at Clark University, was elected Saturday with a slated of new officers. The 28-year-old says he hopes that as an openly gay man he can help the storied civil rights group address long-ignored gay and lesbian issues in minority communities.

Perry also said that most on the newly elected Worcester board are 40 years of age, signaling a generational shift within the NAACP.

Perry's election marks the second time a Massachusetts NAACP chapter elected a young candidate to revive local group. In November, 42-year-old attorney Michael Curry was elected over 73-year-old ex-State Senator Bill Owens to lead the Boston chapter.

Congrats, Ravi! Looking forward to hear great things from you.

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NAACP Denounces Anti-Gay Action in Uganda. WATCH the Press Conference

The NAACP came out against the mess besetting Uganda. Trans African Forum and the National Black Justice Coalition joined forces to tell Congress to stop all anti-gay legislation in Uganda.

Washington Blade has the story:

In a news conference on Capitol Hill, officials with Trans Africa Forum, the NAACP, the National Black Justice Coalition and black church leaders said a growing number of mainline U.S. civil rights groups were beginning to speak out against anti-LGBT persecution in Uganda.

The civil rights group leaders and Frank Mugisha, an official with Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), who also spoke at the news conference, said they were especially troubled that an atmosphere of hostility toward LGBT people in Uganda appears to have been “imported” by U.S. fundamentalist Christian organizations.

“Trans Africa is very concerned about the situation in Uganda and all over the continent of Africa, where we see homophobia on the rise,” said Nicole Lee, president of Trans Africa Forum. “And one of the ironic concerns, frankly, is that this homophobia is not home grown,” she said.

“We have found that this homophobia is imported from the United States and Europe. And we really want to make clear that black civil society organizations here in the United States will not stand for this.”

Lee and the other U.S. civil rights leaders participating in the news conference said they were prompted to take a more vocal stand on LGBT-related developments in Uganda following the Jan. 26 murder of Ugandan LGBT rights leader David Kato, who was found bludgeoned to death in his home near the capital city of Kampala.

Hilary Shelton the NAACP’s executive vice president said that the anti-gay actions in Uganda is like the lynchings and “Jim Crow” policies of segregation and discrimination faced over 50 years ago.
This is a great step in the right direction. Nice to see NAACP tackle more international issues too.

Here is the press conference

Capitol Hill Press Conference The Violence Against Sexual Minorities in Uganda from LIPTV 1 on Vimeo.

Maine's Tea Party Leader Paul LePage tells NAACP to 'Kiss My Butt'

Civil Rights Organizations are seeking a federal review of Texas Public School Education

Finally, folks are looking into the Texas Board of Education's foolishness. Earlier this year, Texas BoED decided to rewrite history in many textbooks. For example, forcing Christianity over other religions and leaving out important Hispanic leaders from Texas history.

Now, Two civil rights groups are seeking a federal review of public school education in Texas and accusing them of violating federal civil rights laws.

The request to the U.S. Department of Education made by the Texas NAACP and Texas League of United Latin American Citizens on Monday contended that the curriculum changes passed in May "were made with the intention to discriminate" and would have a "stigmatizing impact" on African-American and Latino students.

"The State of Texas is failing to provide many of its minority students with equal educational opportunities," documents sent to the federal department said.

The request, signed by Gary Bledsoe, president of the state NAACP, and Joey D. Cardenas Jr., state director of Texas LULAC, asked that implementation of the curriculum changes and new standardized tests be stopped for being racially or ethnically offensive or historically inaccurate.

Besides the curriculum complaint, they accused the state, the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Board of Education of "miseducation" of minority students, disparate discipline for minority students, using accountability standards to impose sanctions on schools with high numbers of minority students and rules leading to underrepresentation of minorities in gifted and talented school programs.

At this time that Board has no true comment.

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