NAACP Chairman: ‘In four months, it’s game time again!’

16th July 2012   ·   0 Comments

By Hazel Trice Edney
Contributing Writer

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Brock told thousands of Black civil rights leaders last week that “Election night 2008 was the end of the process for many in our community when it should have been just the beginning.”

Giving her annual keynote ad­dress during the Public Mass Meeting of the 103rd Annual NAACP Convention in Houston, Brock reminded the crowd that voter apathy that followed the exciting Obama election caused the enemies of Black progress to gain ground. New laws that discourage voting are just the beginning, she indicated.

“Instead of exerting our power again in the 2010 midterm elections, many of us stayed at home and across this land, people who do not share our values or vision for America won majorities in the Congress and state legislatures,” she said. “Our right to vote is under attack more than at any time since we passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We overcame then and we shall overcome now—but only if we are willing to dedicate ourselves to fighting a battle that many of us thought we had won.”

The theme of this year’s convention, “NAACP: My Power, My Decision, My Vote,” is clearly intended to inspire members to the polls.

The non-partisan organization, which will hear from both Democratic Vice President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Mitt Romney, doesn’t tell its members who to vote for. But Brock’s passion indicates that Black America is in a state of emergency because of roll backs on voting laws and other conservative legislation.

“Please do not take these words lightly,” she warns. “Four years ago, it was easy to get people excited about the 2008 election. The country was on the brink of economic collapse and a charismatic leader was rallying us with a message of hope and change. Millions of Americans exercised their power, made a decision and voted for change. Election night 2008 was the end of the process for many in our community when it should have been just the beginning.”

As blockages to equality, Brock listed the passage of laws that remove safety net provisions for the poor and vulnerable, laws that scaled back the rights of workers to organize, laws that restricted women’s rights, laws that “attacked the dignity of new immigrants, and—in what proved to be our wake-up call—erected systematic barriers to our right to vote.”

She then implored the crowd, “In four months, it’s game time again and too much is at stake for us to sit on the sidelines wringing our hands. We have to take action and get back in the game to make it our own. As the young people say, “don’t hate the players, change the game!”

To offset the possible loss of votes due to discouraging new laws that require identification cards, among other stipulations, the NAACP has vowed to register one million new voters in time for the November election.

The NAACP celebrated its 100 year three years ago with President Obama as its primary speaker. Brock says the oldest civil rights organization will push into the second century with a list of issues as its guiding light.

She listed those issues as economic sustainability, education, health, public safety and criminal justice, civic engagement and participation.

Recalling the actions of heroine Rosa Parks that ignited the game-changing Montgomery Bus Boy­cott, Brock said, “The NAACP doesn’t have to look deep into history to see our game changing spirit at work. I’m glad tonight that the NAACP is still on the job.”

This article was originally published in the July 16, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper