Gordon’s Departure Raises Questions About NAACP
Black America Web.com, Commentary, Monica Lewis, Posted: Mar 06, 2007
For nearly 100 years, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s mission has been eliminating racial hatred and discrimination.
And while times have changed since the organization’s inception, its cause has not and should not, some black Americans said in the aftermath of Bruce S. Gordon’s sudden resignation.
“Racism is still here, and we still need to fight it,” Ronald Walters, a political science professor at the University of Maryland, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Monday, one day after Gordon confirmed that he was leaving the post he’s held since June 2005. According to the Associated Press, Gordon wanted the NAACP to provide more social service work.
“If racism were not here, then yeah, I’d say turn it into more of a social service, but the fact is that racism is still here, and we need to fight it,” Walters stressed, “and changing the organization to become some type of economic organization is not going to help that.”
Eric Bryant, Esq., a member of the Baltimore City branch of the NAACP, said he was shocked by Gordon’s resignation, calling it “a bombshell” in light of the fanfare surrounding Gordon’s appointment and the way he “dutifully served” the organization.
However, Bryant said he doesn’t view Gordon’s departure as a sign that the organization needs new direction, a suggestion that many people have made for groups like the NAACP.
“The NAACP in particular transcends people, which create sort of a buffer,” Bryant told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “Whether it’s 2007, 1957 or 1967, American still gives the NAACP work to do. We will remain relevant and active.”
Jane Smith, the director of Spelman College’s Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, echoed Bryant’s sentiments, saying she was disappointed that the revered organization would be seeking yet another leader.
In a little over a decade, the organization has seen the unceremonious departure of former president Benjamin Chavis, who was dismissed in 1995 after it was discovered he used NAACP funds to pay for an out-of-court sexual harassment settlement, and the resignation of Kweisi Mfume, who resigned in 2005 after nine years at the helm.
In addition, the organization has experienced financial challenges over the last decade, including a drastic staff reduction in 1999 and the 2005 threat by the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the NAACP of its tax-exempt status after board chairman Julian Bond expressed his displeasure with President George W. Bush in a speech at the organization’s national convention.
A lifetime member of the NAACP, Smith said this latest vacancy only adds to the popular question about the effectiveness of black leaders today.
“Part of people raising the question of who are today’s black leaders comes from the lack of consistency,” Smith told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
“I’m feeling a great sense of disappointment right now around the lack of consistency in the CEO positions of our organization,” continued Smith, a former president of the National Council of Negro Women. “This detracts from our community, the African-American community’s ability to relate to a consistent leadership voice from another phase of our movement.”
Like Bryant and Walters, Smith is clear that she doesn’t believe the NAACP’s mission should not be revised to meet some sort of new millennium standard. The way in which the mission is carried out, she said, could be in need of some adjusting.
“We do need to keep the same mission and make sure that we address the mission in ways that are appropriate to the times,” Smith told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “When the NAACP was founded, the mission was addressed one way, and during World War II, the mission was addressed in another way.
“The same goes for the 1960s and now,” she continued. “It’s about the application of programs and the definition of issues as they relate to the times.”
Walters, who has closely followed the civil rights organization for years, said any attempts to revamp the NAACP were unnecessary. A change in leadership probably was the best thing, given the difference in philosophies between Gordon and the 65-member board of directors.
“It was just a mismatch of cultures, and it’s just that simple,” Walters said. “We have a situation here where Bruce Gordon was simply a fish out of water with a corporate CEO mentality, and that culture is very different from a community organization.”
While the organization begins a search for a new president, Dennis C. Hayes will serve as interim president. Gordon is expected stay on for two more weeks. Such a search is surely a tedious task, Jane Smith said, but she believes she knows who would be a perfect fit for the job: Elaine Jones, former head of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund.
“She’s always clear about her issues, she’s a team-builder and a bridge builder,” Smith said of Jones. “She’s a collaborator, and as a member of this organization, I will be closely paying attention as this process begins. We should all be attentive and concerned as to what’s going on.”
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