Monday, September 03, 2012

NAACP has to take a long hard look at itself

NAACP in Michigan appears to be acting against the interests of the African-American community in Benton Harbor, MI, and instead to have been co-opted by the corporate interests, specifically Whirlpool, to destroy this long-established African-American community, to turn it into a golf course for the rich.
In a lesser example, this one closer to my home, I see that an NAACP Annual Conference brochure contains an advertisement from Walmart. Walmart! - a very profitable corporation known for its low wages, for cheating its workers of overtime pay, for abusive treatment.
What has become of the NAACP, the long-standing champion of social justice and equality for African-Americans and people of color?
I had been working hard over the past several months to reactivate a local chapter of NAACP in my area. But I find the reported actions of NAACP in Benton Harbor, MI to be dishonest and reprehensible.
I believe NAACP has to take a long hard look at itself, and to cease choosing the corporate agenda over the rights of African-Americans and peoples of color in our country.
Dr. Patrice Woeppel
Haydenville, MA