A Besieged NAACP Opens Its Convention

The NAACP opens its national convention today facing challenges from within and without, including financial turmoil and a string of setbacks from the Supreme Court.

“We think this is really going to be a very important convention for the NAACP, if not the most important convention we’ve had in years,” said Earl T. Shinhoster, acting executive director of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.

The NAACP is struggling with a $3.8-million debt, leadership turnover and a collection of lawsuits, one filed last month by the group’s former top fund-raiser. The publicity has hurt fund raising, Shinhoster said.

“Internally, our top priority is getting our financial house in order,” he said.

The organization also is worried about recent Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action, school desegregation and legislative redistricting, part of what Shinhoster called “an all-out attack” on civil rights.

“The Supreme Court seems to be content with lily-white congresses, lily-white legislatures, lily-white school boards and lily-white city councils,” he said.

Joining Shinhoster for the 86th annual convention, which runs through July 13, will be NAACP Chairwoman Myrlie Evers-Williams, elected by a one-vote margin in February over 10-year incumbent William Gibson, who was accused of abusing his expense account.

Evers-Williams, the widow of slain NAACP organizer Medgar Evers, has been pushing to make public an audit of the organization’s finances. She said the board of directors will get the audit report Wednesday and make it public the next day.

Other NAACP goals include encouraging blacks to vote and attracting young members.

“There’s a lot of negative things out there, especially about African American youth, and being involved in the NAACP will allow the youth to come together and discuss issues that are going on,” said 23-year-old Shalia Lindsey, co-chairwoman of the convention’s youth committee.

But some young people said the NAACP is not the organization for them.

“I think they’re scared of the younger generation,” said Ameen Ford, a 20-year-old intern with St. Paul’s Inner City Youth League. “Sometimes they think we’re a group of failures.”

Ford said he doubts he and his friends will ever get involved with the NAACP: “I don’t think it could handle our fire.”