(NNPA)—In her first speech as chair of the largest and oldest civil rights organization in the U.S., Roslyn M. Brock, the youngest ever chair of the NAACP, envisioned the “browning of America” this week while debunking persistent myths of a so-called “post-racial” society.
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| FIRST LADY INTRODUCED—Michelle Obama, right, is introduced by NAACP Chair Roslyn Brock, before delivering remarks at the 101st annual NAACP convention, July 12, in Kansas City, Mo.
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“We are proud to have an American of African descent in the White House. However, the historic election of President Barack Obama did not miraculously transform race relations, end racial profiling, hate crimes or intolerance in America,” Brock told a packed audience in Kansas City Sunday evening. “Contrary to popular belief, we do not live in a post- racial society. America must be commended for significant race progress, but we are not there yet. When you consider rising hate crimes and insurgence of the Tea Party movement along with conservative ideologues who seek to turn back the clock on civil rights gains, there is still much more work to be done.”
Her prepared text exuded remarkable vision and consciousness as she pointed out racial progress and in the same breath as racial stagnation.
“Today’s civil and human rights challenges are far different from those faced by our predecessors. Yes, we can…drink at public water fountains, but the drinking water in our homes may not be safe because of lead toxins;
“Yes, we can…move into sprawling multi-million dollar homes in the suburbs, but the terms of our mortgages differ from our neighbors;
“Yes, we can…send our children to public schools, but in some states the textbooks they read are 20 years old and school boards have decided to rewrite history by removing all references to slavery and its devastating impact on our society.
“Yes, we can…be treated at hospital emergency rooms, but often there are huge gaps and disparities in the quality of care we receive, which contributes to higher rates of diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions,” she said.
She appealed to the audience to recommit to the mission of making “hope more appealing and despair less convincing in a nation where urban centers are collapsing under the weight of inadequate health care, lack of affordable housing and massive home foreclosures, high infant mortality, declining public school systems, uneven distribution of wealth, limited economic resources, double digit unemployment, extreme violence with Black-on- Black crime and an exploding prison population.”
Born in 1965, Brock is no fledgling civil rights leader. She said that her election as chair last year along with the selection of 37-year-old Benjamin Todd Jealous nearly two years ago, “signals the passing of the baton to the next generation of civil rights leaders who will become the ‘New Frontline’ for social justice advocacy in our nation.”
But without mentors and trailblazers, the fire would be difficult to maintain, she indicated, crediting family and friends and key board members including former board chairs Julian Bond and Myrlie Evers-Williams and the late NAACP icon, Benjamin Hooks and civil rights icon Dorothy I. Height for their love and support. While frequently referring to struggles of the past, Brock remained focused on the future.
“In 1927, one of our founders, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, stated, “We must never lose sight of the preservation of our liberties.” As she made these remarks, she surveyed a growing national current of racial hostility and division. It was a time of great successes and setbacks and a time of great political accomplishment and promise.
“Today, we face a similar period of political and social change—a period that presents us with both a host of challenges and opportunities. Much of the conversation emerging around change in America’s landscape center on hot button political issues like the size and scope of government, states’ rights, higher tax rates, health care reform, illegal immigration, environmental protections and rising crime and violence. There is an additional issue that I refer to as the ‘browning of America.’”
With that, Brock listed a string of statistics showing how in just a few decades, White people will no longer dominate America’s racial fabric.
•Three out of 10 people in this country are people of color.
•Eighty-five percent of new workers will be women, minorities and new immigrants.
•By 2020 more than a third of all children will be Hispanic, African-American and Asian.
•By 2040, minorities will represent more than half the U.S. population.
In its 101st year, these statistics mean a heightening need for the NAACP in shaping the nation’s legislative policies critical to preparing America for what some may deem her “rendezvous with destiny.”
Brock concluded, “The silence in America has been deafening as individuals who feel locked out of a prosperous society repeatedly ask the question ‘is anybody listening….does anybody care?’”
Citing NAACP conferences and chapters from coast to coast, she declared, “The NAACP cares, and we are concerned about what’s happening not only in the White House but also what’s happening in your house, your house and your house… the NAACP is on the job committed to ensuring change that we believed in, change we voted for and most important, change we know must happen in our nation.”
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