Former Maryland congressman and head of the NAACP, Kweisi Mfume, 
announced last week that he was resigning as president and CEO of 
that organization. Mfume had led the NAACP for nine years after 
rescuing it from financial problems.

Mfume’s resignation presents a fitting opportunity for the once-
venerable organization to itself call it quits. Its time has come; 
its goals have been largely met, and it is still plagued by 
internal upheaval that continues to tarnish its image.

During the campaign, Pres. Bush snubbed the organization, becoming 
the first president in decades not to attend its convention, 
citing political name-calling by its leadership. And it is having 
problems with the Internal Revenue Service, which is reviewing the 
organizations tax-exempt status.

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond criticized Bush during a speech at the 
Democratic National Convention this year. That led to the IRS 
review. A letter to the NAACP from the IRS stated tax-exempt 
organizations “cannot make partisan comments in official 
organization publications or at official organizational 
functions.”

Before his resignation Mfume started a billboard campaign to 
increase membership in the NAACP. Membership has been flat for 
awhile, holding at about half a million members.

But what began as a desperately needed organization in 1909 has 
turned into an obsolete, out of touch bureaucracy. It can 
accomplish nothing more than what it has already accomplished in 
its heyday, and in fact, might even lead to increased bigotry, 
which runs counter to its stated objectives.

Founded as the “National Negro Committee” in 1909 by a group of 
concerned citizens and community leaders, the National Association 
for the Advancement of Colored People has outlived its mission 
statement. Even its name is archaic. The term “colored people” 
went out of vogue in the 1950s and was replaced by “Negro.” 

In the 1960s the term “black,” which had been taboo previously, 
became the preferred adjective. In the 1970s the correct usage was 
“Afro-American,” and then, finally, “African-American,” even 
though most blacks must go back well over a century to find any 
truly African ancestors.

According to its mission statement the NAACP wants to ensure the 
“political, educational, social and economic equality of minority 
groups and citizens….” But thanks to rampant affirmative action 
programs, not only has equality been achieved, in some cases it 
has been exceeded. The hiring practices of many companies, and the 
admissions policies at many universities, favor blacks.

Another of the NAACP’s goals is to “eliminate race prejudice among 
the citizens of the United States.” It’s no secret that racial 
prejudice is not limited to Caucasians. It runs both ways. But one 
thing that tends to increase prejudice is to continually remind 
everybody that race is an issue. By always bringing race to the 
forefront of almost any issue, the NAACP may be hampering its 
stated goal of eliminating prejudice.

Finally, the NAACP “seeks to enact and enforce federal, state, and 
local laws securing civil rights.” Well, it’s called the Civil 
Rights Act, and it was passed in 1968. The stated objective is 
just one more example of why the NAACP has overstayed its time.

Will there ever be a time in this country when race will be a non-
issue? Will it ever happen that hiring and admissions policies 
will be colorblind? 

With antiquated organizations such as the NAACP, the Urban League, 
the Congressional Black Caucus, and Black Expo still out there, 
focusing on racial differences, the answer to those questions, 
unfortunately, is no.