LAWRENCE: Speaker outlines history and future of NAACP

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Mention “NAACP” to the average person and the reaction is a blank stare.
   But if it were not for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, blacks — who were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 — would have continued to make very little progress in joining mainstream America.
   The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in 1909 as a grass-roots, civil rights organization. It was formed in response to the continuing practice of lynching blacks, plus the 1908 race riots in Springfield, Ill. — the home of President Abraham Lincoln, who freed them.
   And despite the election of Barack Obama as the United States’ first black president — which broke the color barrier — there is still a need for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Jonette Smart, president of the group’s Trenton chapter. It was founded in 1913.
   Ms. Smart reminded a small group of Rider University students that more than 200 years ago, blacks were forcibly brought to the United States to work as slaves for white men. Their families, their languages and their culture were taken away from them, she said at the Feb. 7 roundtable discussion about the civil rights organization.
   ”Remember the television series ‘Roots,’” Ms. Smart asked the students. “That depicts what happened to black people. In 1863, President Lincoln freed the slaves. In 1865, the 13th Amendment (to the U.S. Constitution) freed all of the slaves. But with that freedom, they were not really free men.”
   Under the law of the land, blacks still did not have rights, she said. They still had to work for white men, sometimes as sharecroppers. They received part of what they grew and the farm owner received the rest. They could not mingle or eat or socialize with whites, she said.
   There was still quite a lot of injustice toward blacks in 1909, when the NAACP was formed, Ms. Smart said. The group fought against “rampant racism,” she said. There was discrimination in education, jobs, health care, housing and transportation.
   But thanks to the NAACP, progress has been made, Ms. Smart said. Some of the notable accomplishments include the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in public schools, and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which granted the right to vote to blacks.
   The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is not permanent, however. Portions of the law must be renewed periodically. It was recently extended for 25 years, Ms. Smart said, adding that “I am hoping the next time, it will become permanent.”
   One of the good things about the NAACP is that “it stays on top of things” if it sees something that is questionable or unfair, she said. The organization is a role model for other groups that have faced discrimination, such as women and gays.
   ”There is still a tiny bit of discussion in Congress about equal pay for equal work. In 2013 for young women, I still want equal pay for equal work. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People might be able to help,” Ms. Smart said.
   She told the students that when she was young, there were race riots. The music was different. She recalled soul singer James Brown and one of his most popular songs — “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.” She said it made her feel proud to be a black.
   Ms. Smart said she became involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People when she was in high school. Racial tensions were high, she said, and she wanted her white classmates to know that blacks were as intelligent as they were.
   ”If I could show them we are smart, they would think better of us,” Ms. Smart said, and that is part of what led her to become involved in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as a teenager.
   Despite the progress that has been made, the need for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has not declined, Ms. Smart said. It is still needed because there are still inequities in housing, education, jobs and the economy. Those issues are as relevant today as they were 50 or 100 years ago.
   ”We have made some great strides. Having a black president is a wonderful thing. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People can be a watchdog, so we don’t revert back to the doings of years ago,” Ms. Smart said.
   For more information, contact the Trenton chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at [email protected].