Mascot Dispute Underscores NAACP’s Power Struggle : Removal of Confederate symbols from school was key victory for one young woman. But it illustrates how weak the organization’s voice is in the Antelope Valley.

La-Dawn Best, as a 17-year-old African American Quartz Hill High School student, did what America symbolizes best. She took action to eradicate an injustice. She started a petition drive to halt the use of Johnny Reb as the school’s mascot and to remove other symbols such as the Confederate flag from school stationery and documents. For La-Dawn Best, the students who assisted her and the more than 1,000 supporters who signed the petition, those symbols represent the glorification and acceptance of an insidious and unsavory period in our country’s history known as slavery.

In response to claims by those who say members of the African American community overreacted, petition drive supporters note that there are no high schools using swastikas as a symbol, or named Adolf Hitler High. Why, then, should African Americans allow profound symbols of slavery, death and racial genocide to go unchallenged?

Unfortunately, the admirable quest of La-Dawn Best couldn’t be resolved between the students and the Antelope Valley Union High School District board without becoming a point of contention among the NAACP, the school board and community members. It was as if a battle needed to be played out on the community stage in order for African Americans to air feelings of animosity and frustration concerning their impotent, insignificant power base in the Antelope Valley.

Well, the battle took place and the symbols were removed, but nothing has really changed in terms of the community understanding what’s important to the advancement of African Americans in this valley. Demanding removal of the mascot forced a school board to respect the sensitivities of a race of people. But removal did not ensure that African Americans in the Antelope Valley receive equitable treatment in education, criminal justice, employment, housing and life in general. Removing the mascot didn’t help blacks obtain viable employment opportunities, provide them with greater representation on school boards, get them elected to political positions and powerbroker roles. The racial tension on area high school campuses remains high while administrators continue to pretend that we are living in a colorblind world.

Now, more than ever, the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People needs to have a plan that goes beyond sound bites, hip quotes and meaningless rhetoric. For too long the NAACP has been viewed as practicing a self-imposed state of suspended animation, guilty of abdicating its responsibility in regard to monitoring racial issues, and lacking the political aptitude and personal fortitude to make a difference in this valley. The visible role it has played recently in addressing hate crimes and the removal of the mascot hopefully represent the organization’s rebirth, not simply a publicity-grabbing opportunity.

The NAACP must tread carefully in a valley where its support base is limited. After all, no civil rights goals were ever won without the forging of coalitions and the involvement of various segments of society. That was how it happened in the ‘60s; that’s the only way it will happen in the ‘90s in a community where a conservative Christian right coalition pulls the strings.

Removing the mascot from Quartz Hill High School was a win for a young woman who saw an injustice and galvanized support to right it. But the young woman must now move on to experience life on a different level and contribute what she can to society. Where does that leave the NAACP? Without a cause and without a platform, some say. And if the NAACP falters, what will be the real lesson for the young woman?

While the organization on a national level has an illustrious history, in the Antelope Valley a positive, proactive image has yet to be carved into the hearts and minds of the citizenry. We cannot lose sight of the reality that it’s the leaders, members and organizational supporters who give the group life, define its effectiveness, ensure its success.

The ball is now in the NAACP’s court. It must demonstrate that the organization has a substantive agenda that will favorably impact issues concerning the African American community.