NAACP Moves Forward with Its First Female President

For the first time in its storied history, the NAACP will have a woman in control of its operations. After five years of service, Benjamin Todd Jealous’ tenure has come to an end. Replacing Jealous as the new Interim President and CEO will be Lorraine Miller.

Miller is the former clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. She stepped into her role at the NAACP in early November. For many, Miller’s appointment is fitting for an organization that has fought over 100 years to create platforms of equality continues to set standards for change.

As the NAACP’s first female President-elect, Miller recognizes the influence of her new role and sends a positive message to those who look to her for guidance: “Works pays off. Being consistent and being involved really pays off … If you consider being Interim President and CEO of the nation’s largest, most powerful, most successful civil rights organization, then it is a testament of being able to work and being consistent with it.”

Though Miller expects her term to last between only six months and a year, her focus to continue to move the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in a positive direction is met with much fervor. While there are many things on her agenda as president, voting rights will continue to be at the forefront for the NAACP. Miller has spoken openly about the importance of voting issues and how it will be essential during her term.

“One of the things we will do as an association is protect our right to vote,” Miller says. “It is the one equalizer: one man, one vote. We are a non-partisan organization, but getting people registered and making sure folks go to their polling place to cast a vote for whoever their choice is, we want to make sure they can cast that vote in an unfettered way and that their vote would be counted.”

Encouraging Young Voters

Civic engagement and the involvement of youth will also be pertinent issues over the next year. Sammie Dow, who works with Miller as the Director of the Youth and College division of the NAACP, expresses a renewed interest as it relates to a younger demographic.

“Young people of color is the fastest growing voting demographic in this country,” Dow says. “We have to continue to get young people involved because over the long haul and the next few decades, they will be the generation most impacted by what we do during this era of civil rights.”

An educator for several years, Miller knows first-hand the importance of teaching youth and producing the future leaders of tomorrow.

“Young people must have a permanent seat and not an obligatory seat at the civil rights table,” Miller says. “They must be woven into the very fabric of everything we do as an association, so that we are growing and nurturing new leaders that take the struggle on and believe in passing the baton.”

Addressing Violence in African American Communities

At the NAACP and other organizations, there is great interest in nurturing  leadership in urban communities more than ever. Mass shooting deaths usually gain national attention but there are fatalities every day in African American communities all across the country.

“With the anniversary of the Newtown shooting we continue to hear about mass shootings across the country,” Dow explains, “but we know those comprise less than 1 percent of the shooting deaths that occur in this country every year. A large percentage of deaths by gun violence are happening in urban centers across the country.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 30,000 deaths and over twice as many injuries resulted from gun violence this past year. Leaders in many parts of the country are eager to alter the perception of inner cities plagued by such unnecessary violence, but also to change the lives of the countless families devastated by such tragedies.

Dow and Miller met last week in Chicago with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and local NAACP leaders to address gun violence issues plaguing many American cities. Dow states how a “diligent, thoughtful, strategic approach to addressing the violence” is necessary and that Miller’s tenure will “aim to build something meaningful in hopes of eradicating such issues and to get to the core of gun violence in our communities.”

Miller wants her actions and those of the NAACP to be transparent to the public. “You can do a whole lot of things, but if people don’t know that you are doing anything, then you are doing nothing,” she says.

Economic Empowerment

With this year marking the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, it is hard to ignore the tremendous strides African Americans have made to transform the social landscape today. From politics to entertainment, there has been obvious improvement in respect to the plight of African Americans. But while most agree major progress has been made since 1963, there is still a wide gap between the rich and poor and many black communities are still underserved.

“As much progress we have made on an economic front, African Americans are still at the bottom of the economic totem pole,” Miller says.

The NAACP is aware of the economic struggles that exist in the black community. Miller plans to attack such hardships head on. To make significant progress, there must be education about economics. Wealth building and the idea of entrepreneurship should be a focus for African Americans. For the black community to truly gain the independence that it has sought for generations, financial literacy, according to Miller, is key.
“You will be surprised at the amount of people who do not understand what it takes to negotiate a mortgage, meanwhile home ownership is one of the wealth building facets in our community,” Miller says. “To fix this we are working in collaboration with large financial institutions like Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank to help people understand how a mortgage works and what you have to do to obtain and maintain a home.”

Many people may compare the African American struggles of yesteryear to those of today and conclude the fight is over. But, Miller says that is simply not the case. Unjust conditions for African Americans nationwide serve as proof. Organizations like the NAACP still exist to create a voice for those people who are not heard. The efforts of such associations create platforms of promise that are as important today as they ever were.

Miller said it best: “The rising waters have not lifted all boats.” The fight is not over, and with the guidance of new Interim President and CEO Miller, the NAACP will continue to evoke change and be a staple of the black community.