WEB POSTED 07-27-1999

NAACP takes on gun lobby, tackles digital divide


by Saeed Shabazz

NEW YORK—Undertaking new initiatives and pledging a recommitment to old ones, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People opened its 90th annual week-long convention July 10.

The nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization grabbed widespread media attention by announcing a federal lawsuit against gun manufacturers July 12. "Easily available handguns are being used to turn many of our communities into war zones," said Kweisi Mfume, NAACP president and CEO. "Urban communities have sadly become so accustomed to the prevalence of firearms in their neighborhoods that they are no longer shocked at the sound of gunfire."

Lawyers representing the NAACP in the suit said it does not seek monetary compensation. It will pursue sanctions against the gun industry, such as stiffening regulations on who can sell firearms, banning the sale of firearms at gun shows, and limiting the purchase of guns to one per month for customers, NAACP officials.

Mr. Mfume also blasted the television industry for a "virtual whitewash" in the new fall lineup.

The organization’s newly created Television and Film Industry Diversity Initiate will monitor whether the nation’s racial diversity is mirrored on television.

None of the 26 new shows premiering this fall on the four major networks (ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC) has a non-white character in a leading role, Mr. Mfume noted.

"This glaring omission is an outrage and a shameful display by network executives who are either clueless, careless, or both," Mr. Mfume said.

For the delegates the convention seemed to bring a rejuvenated spirit to the organization. The future of the NAACP had been uncertain as Mr. Mfume, a former Maryland congressman, considered a run for mayor of Baltimore.

"We are on the right track," said 40-year NAACP members Mr. and Mrs. Myers of White Plains, N.Y. "We need for somebody to go after the gun issue. It is not fair that the government will not pass a stronger gun control bill. NAACP is our civil rights organization that fights for us," they added.

Jan Johnston agreed but cautioned delegates about becoming complacent after the euphoria of the convention subsides.

"I am hoping that they will take it back to local communities and make politicians accountable," said the member from Toledo, Ohio. "If they’re not giving us the right answers, vote them out. I am a great believer in Min. Farrakhan. There was a lot of talk amongst convention delegates about unity. We are hoping that leaders from the Nation of Islam, NAACP and the Urban League can get together in the future."

The conference also entertained a procession of politicians and government officials including Vice President Al Gore, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Bradley and the Rev. Jesse Jackson who urged Blacks to look beyond race to help heal the nation and end poverty.

In response to a government report released in July, the NAACP announced an alliance with telecommunication giant AT&T aimed at closing the "digital divide" between Blacks and whites in gaining access to the internet.

Among other things, the report found that less than half of all Blacks own computers while 47 percent of whites have computers.

Technology centers in 20 cities including New York, Dallas and Seattle will provide computer and internet training and seminars as part of the NAACP and AT&T program.

The delegation also passed a measure demanding a presidential pardon for Black sailors convicted in the Port Chicago, Calif., mutiny trial during World War II.

Earlier this year, Freddie Meeks, one of the surviving sailors, asked President Clinton to pardon him and the 49 others who were jailed after refusing to return to loading docks after a suspicious explosion killed over 300 sailors.

The convention opened with sadness as delegates learned of the death of James Farmer, founder of the Congress of Racial Equality. Mr. Farmer was the last surviving member of the "Big Four" leaders of the civil rights struggle in the southern United States during the 1950s. The other members were Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, Whitney Young of the Urban League and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.


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