NC NAACP President
 

Brother Rev. Dr. William Joseph Barber, II is seeking the position of president for the NAACP NC State Conference of Branches. Please support Brother Barber. He is progressive, ready and able to move NC forward in the struggle for freedom, justice and equality.

NAACP chief urges solutions, not excuses
BY KELLY BREWINGTON
SUN REPORTER
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 18, 2006

WASHINGTON // In his inaugural speech as head of the nation's oldest civil rights organization, NAACP President and CEO Bruce S. Gordon implored the group's membership yesterday to seize responsibility for solving the problems facing black Americans and focus less on the impediments to civil rights.

"I am not here today to wallow in our misery," said the retired Verizon Communications Inc. executive during his much-anticipated keynote address at the Washington Convention Center. "We know the problems, we know the statistics. It is now time for us to direct our attention to the solutions.
"We have the ability to take control of our lives, our futures and our condition."

His remarks focused on what the Baltimore-based NAACP can do to make a difference on issues such as education, health and voter participation, and urged members to support corporations that show a commitment to diversity.
It was a clear departure from the subject that has dominated discourse since the organization's 97th convention opened here Saturday: whether President Bush will accept the group's invitation to speak for the first time in six years.
Gordon cautioned members against placing too much emphasis on the attendance of "one person" as a barometer of the value of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"I think we've got an obsession with one person," said Gordon to the sound of rousing applause. "If we want to remain relevant and powerful, we need to do that for ourselves. He can't do it for us."

Gordon's remarks came a day after NAACP Chairman Julian Bond ripped into the Bush administration in what has become the civil rights stalwart's annual refrain. But Gordon, who took over the helm at the organization last summer, had a different take on relations with the White House. He urged NAACP members to focus on solutions to civil rights concerns, not use "victim-like" thinking to address them.

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