By: Larry Walker, Jr.

The Tea Party Movement is made up of people of all colors. There are no racial barriers, anyone can join the Tea Party and has the right to protest against our runaway Government. Yet the NAACP has chosen to condemn the Tea Party for having so called racist elements. Instead of defending the rights of this diverse organization, the NAACP has proven that the words ‘all persons’ does not really apply as stated in their mission statement. Does the NAACP ensure the political rights of all persons? Not those of the Conservative persuasion.

NAACP Mission Statement

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

Vision Statement

The vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race.

http://www.naacp.org/pages/our-mission

The New Black Panther party is composed of a few radical Black extremists who contend that ‘Crackers’ and their ‘Cracker’ babies should be killed. One of their members, King Samir Shabazz, has been shown all over the news recently shouting, “If you want freedom, you gonna have to kill some ‘Crackers’.” He was also caught at a Philadelphia polling place during the 2008 Presidential elections wielding a night stick and threatening voters. Did the NAACP come to the rescue to defend the political rights of ‘all’ persons? No. In this case, the NAACP sided with the racist inciter.

Kenneth Gladney was called a ‘Nigger’ and beaten to the ground by a group of Black and White, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members while selling souvenirs, to conservatives, at a St. Louis town hall meeting. Did the NAACP come to his rescue? No. In a show of their true colors, NAACP members simply dismissed Mr. Gladney as an ‘Uncle Tom’.

Based on 2008 racial and ethnic demographics, there were 37.6 million Black Americans living in the United States out of at total population of 304.1 million. Black Americans represented just 12.4% of the population while White Americans represented 65.4%. In 2007, the NAACP reported having 300,000 dues-paying members, and another 100,000 non-paying members. With NAACP membership representing just 1.2% (400k / 37,600k) of Black Americans (assuming that all members are black), any resolution that they make can hardly be taken as representative of mainstream Black Americans.

Of course, having a mission statement which is diametric to the actions of the organization doesn’t help win many members. Let’s face it, the NAACP not only fails to represent the rights of ALL persons, it doesn’t even represent and defend the rights of mainstream Black Americans. In particular, if you are a Black Conservative, as far as the NAACP can see, you are just a Negro, or an Uncle Tom. Whether you are Black, White, or other if you don’t agree with the progressive positions taken by the NAACP, then according to the NAACP you are probably a racist, or associated with organizations containing racist elements.

Only a dismal 1.2% of Black Americans (assuming that all their members are Black) have found the NAACP worthy of supporting financially, or otherwise. If not for the immense support of large Corporations and Foundations, the NAACP would have died out long ago. In calendar year 2008, the last year reported, its corporate donors of $500K or more included AT&T, Bank of America, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Wachovia (now Wells Fargo), and Verizon. Companies donating $100,000 to $499,999 included Allstate Insurance, Anheuser Busch, Best Buy, Blockbuster, Denny’s, Federal Express and a host of others. Foundations contributing $1 million or more included the Bill & Melinda Gates, and Ford Foundations. See page 40 of the 2008 Annual Report for the entire list.

In conclusion, the NAACP has a membership which represents at most just 1.2% of Black Americans (assuming that all of its members are Black). The NAACP is mainly supported by large corporations and foundations, which are not representative of Black Americans. Thus, the NAACP is not a representative, or spokesperson for Black Americans. Nor is the NAACP a defender of the rights of ‘all persons’.

The NAACP’s condemnation of the Tea Party Movement, its failure to condemn the racist New Black Panther Party, and its refusal to defend Kenneth Gladney make the organization nothing but a political pawn controlled by the purse strings of Corporate America. In other words, the NAACP has evolved into just another irrelevant, left-wing, progressive, political windbag.

Perhaps Bruce Gordon, the former NAACP president, was correct when he tried in vain to change its mission toward more social service work. Donors should take heed.