There is an old man in your neighborhood.  He has a brilliant, wonderful history. He is a decorated war vet. In his youth, he marched with MLK and staged sit-ins. He was the first in his family to finish high school and college. He has been a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. For many years, he mentored fatherless boys. The neighbors love him.  But…he is now a shell of the man he once was. He’s ailing, and his memory is given over to Alzheimer’s. In many ways, he’s a walking dead man. Why? Well, because the man inside of that shell is actually long gone.

I feel that way about the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It has a brilliant, wonderful history. Started in the early 1900’s by a group of brave and brilliant individuals such as W.E.B. Dubois and Ida Wells, they hit the ground running, fighting for social justice and standing up to segregationists such as Woodrow Wilson—who was President at the time. They even succeeded in shaming him into openly speaking against lynching. At a time when many racists in this country embraced the menacing Klan, the NAACP stood up to them with boldness and defied them and their ilk.

Over many decades they stood strong, fighting for devastated, powerless people who could not afford lawyers and they pointed a spotlight at wrongs and injustice. In fact, it would take many, many books to document their rich history.

The NAACP died many moons ago. Sadly, they don’t know it yet. The NAACP is a mere shell of the greatness that once was. Its usefulness has run its course. It won’t change perhaps because it can’t change. Dead things don’t change for the better.  Dead things simply decompose, rot and stink.

To give you an example of just how dead that organization truly is, look at the most pressing problems facing blacks today.  Negative images.  Crime. Poverty. Education.

Speaking of negative images, what has the NAACP done about “gansta rap” and the rap artists who are defiling the black community and threatening blacks to “stop snitching” on criminals who are running roughshod over many black neighborhoods.  How have they responded to the rappers?

On their website, they posted the following:

SIGN THE STOP! PLEDGE TODAY                     

 STOP Defaming Our Women… by respecting all African American Women and not describing them in profane and derogatory terms                   

STOP Degrading Our Community… by not supporting hurtful images that portray negative images of the African American community                    

STOP Denigrating Our History… by not supporting words and media that diminishes our proud history and insults our ancestors                  

  STOP Accepting Disrespect… by not patronizing companies and artists that put forth demeaning and disrespectful images in our community                   

   START Standing Up… by standing up against anyone who diminishes the capacity of young people 

START the Diversity… by supporting balance and diversity of content in the entertainment industry to create positive role models for young people and by demanding more African Americans and other people of color in decision making positions in the entertainment industry.  

Who exactly do they believe is going to go to their website to sign their pledge?  I cannot imagine the gangsta rappers signing it. And doesn’t it sound sort of high school-ish to request that a pledge be signed? Gansta rappers are literally peeing on the black community.  The NAACP, instead of dealing with the situation head on, is attempting to put a band aid on a bullet hole. It won’t work. Unfortunately, that band aid approach is now their modus operandi. You need to understand that dead things cannot create new, fresh ideas or solutions. Dead things are ineffective.A better approach would be to use their name recognition to gain entry into all the major media. Use those media appearances to expose the “ganstas”. Name the record executives who support the “gangstas”.  If they want to use their website, then do something constructive with it such as posting YouTube videos of the “gangstas” telling black people not to “snitch” on criminals. Play videos of the “gangstas” calling black women filthy, gutter names for no known reason.

In order to do the things listed above, one would need to have some life left, wouldn’t he?  The NAACP is a walking dead man. Out of respect for its great history, I refuse to join the chorus of voices that have joined together to mock that organization as of late—just as I would not dare mock an ailing old fragile man who was once great. By the same token, I would not want that old man—suffering dementia—to act as a spokesperson for me or anyone else. And I certainly would not expect him to solve any problems. He no longer has what it takes to do that.

 I would like to see the NAACP recognize its own death and close its doors because it is doing nothing. In fact, other than sharing the name, the current NAACP bears no resemblance to its predecessors.  It is bringing down the memories of its positive contributions from the past. Old memories die hard, especially when they are pleasant memories…and the NAACP is simply a memory.