Auto Maker Donates $100,000 to NAACP

NAACP President-designate Kweisi Mfume on Thursday announced a $100,000 donation from the Nissan Motor Corp. USA, calling it a “first-step gesture” of confidence by private corporations in the new leadership of the troubled civil rights organization.

Mfume said the donation, coupled with a $50,000 Nissan grant earlier this year, will be used “in the implementation of existing programs and new programs,” including voter registration and education, recruitment and outreach to minority communities.

“We’re very happy with Nissan Motors for making this first-step gesture from the corporate community,” Mfume said in a telephone interview from NAACP headquarters in Baltimore. “We’re hoping it will be seen by the rest of the corporate community as a way to play a reciprocal role with the black community.”

Mfume said the Nissan donations will not be used to help retire the NAACP’s $3.2-million debt. “We will deal with debt reduction within the organization,” he said.

A Democratic congressman from Baltimore, Mfume was chosen as president and chief executive officer of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People on Dec. 9.