The NAACP: If Whites Can Give Up Racism, Why Can't Blacks?

“In our lead story: The leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People today announced that the organization is being dissolved. CEO Kweisi Mfume and Board Chairman Julian Bond, in a joint announcement, noted that the major goal of the organization had been accomplished, and both looked forward to moving on to other challenges.

Mfume said that widespread racial discrimination as a common and practical deterrent to the social and economic progress of black people in America has been effectively conquered. ‘Though there will probably always be some residual prejudices among peoples of different skin color and race, the days where such attitudes have a detrimental affect, as a practical matter, are gone, and good riddance.´ Neither Mfume nor Bond announced their plans for the future.”

Of course, if you´ve paid attention to the news the past week or so, you know that the above scenario does, indeed, have to be imagined. In reality, this week in Houston the NAACP is holding its 93rd annual meeting, and an article in the Houston Chronicle (written by an Hispanic woman with the title of ‘Minority Affairs Writer´!) quotes Bond as saying, ‘It's depressing to know that a majority of whites think discrimination is no longer an issue. It's very much an issue…´

Well, of course it´s an issue…especially if you´ve made a living from it your entire life! For those like Bond, Mfume, Jesse Jackson (also in attendance, of course) and many others, the fact of the matter is that they can´t afford to let anyone believe that racial discrimination is no longer a problem…and for those so dependent on race for their stature and position, not to mention their incomes, that will ever be the case.

No matter that the federal government has gone above and beyond in violating the rights and freedoms of other Americans in their zeal to ensure racial discrimination or bigotry is no longer a factor. No matter that the states and municipalities have followed suit (and sometimes led the way), or that private companies have implemented nondiscrimination policies across the board. Racial discrimination will always be a problem for a certain segment of blacks who aren´t willing to accept responsibility for their own lives, including their failures, and for the race-baiting opportunists who would ‘lead´ them.

An example of that refusal of responsibility is the NAACP´s shift of priorities to educational disparities as a major theme. In November, the group ‘challenged´ each state to produce a five-year plan to dramatically reduce the ‘academic performance gap´ (between whites and blacks), as well as ‘racial disparities in public schools ranging from discipline rates to placement in special education.´ Only 28 states met the May deadline, but another eleven came through after Mfume called a news conference and threatened to file civil rights complaints with the U.S. Department of Education against those states not responding to the ‘challenge.´

Now, before I continue, a question occurs: Who or what is the NAACP that sovereign states of this nation have any cause, let alone responsibility, to respond to this so-called ‘challenge´? Do you know anyone who voted for the leadership of the NAACP? Are you a member? Have you ever voted to give this private group such power over public education and public funds? The amazing thing—and what should trouble all American citizens, black, white or otherwise—is that 28 states ‘responded´ (read: knuckled under) simply because Mfume, a private citizen, heading a private organization, demanded they do so. And then another eleven caved under the threat of ‘civil rights complaints,´ which is merely another level of this race-extortion.

What is this ‘academic performance gap,´ and exactly what is it that the NAACP wants? In the most recent testing results available (2000) from the National Assessment of Education Progress, for example, 74 percent of white students met the "basic achievement" standard in 12th-grade mathematics, while only 31 percent of black students met those levels.

All Americans, regardless of race, should be appalled by those numbers. Only one black student in three meets the standards? But we should all be equally appalled at the other number—the best we can do in public education still leaves one quarter of the ‘better students´ unable to meet standards? But let´s stay on course, here, and focus just on Mfume and the NAACP´s concerns.

The NAACP has raised special concerns relating to this education gap about Florida, Ohio and Louisiana. In 1998, U.S. the Department of Education´s Office of Civil Rights negotiated a voluntary compliance agreement with the Minneapolis Public Schools that deal with the same issues raised against those three states. The Minneapolis school district agreed to (1) change its screening procedure for special education programs; (2) provide teacher training to increase awareness of the effects of cultural influences on learning styles ; and (3) remove any discriminatory barriers to minority students' enrollment in "gifted and talented" programs.

Now, no figures are available for the impact this ‘voluntary compliance ´—with a private organization?!—has had on the Minneapolis performance gap. But I have a couple of questions about this agreement: First, what were those changes to the screening process for special education programs, and why were they necessary? Were they, as I suspect, biased in favor of black or minority students? Then how is this ‘fair and equitable,´ the NAACP´s constantly proclaimed goal?

Second, the ‘effects of cultural influences on learning styles´ is simply that old bugaboo about poverty and racial oppression making a difference in how kids learn. But at last count, almost $400 billion in federal funds have been funneled into public education the past forty years, much of it for programs precisely aimed at these differences in learning…and that leaves us with a gap of 74% to 31%?! I don´t want to be rash, here, but it seems that the NAACP prejudice against standardized tests (based on this ‘cultural differences´ theory) and their efforts to water down the requirements for black and minority students have been a colossal and unmitigated disaster! Shouldn´t it be the students who have to adapt to the established learning standards and goals, and not the teachers and schools who must kowtow to false learning theories, simply to pacify race-baiting demagogues? It´s clear that such theories are crippling our children´s education!

And finally, ‘remove discriminatory barriers´ to the gifted and talented programs? Excuse me, but then why bother having or calling them ‘gifted and talented´ programs? Isn´t the only logical standard for such programs performance? If the standard is diluted, just to make sure of proper minority quotas, what have the minority children who aren´t truly qualified actually gained? Or, more to the point, what damage has been done to them, and to the rest of the students, and the programs? The ‘barriers´ to participation in such programs should be talent, performance and ability, not racial make-up. How long do we have to keep corrupting every standard, in every area of society, just so that black ‘leaders´ will feel comfortable that blacks are ‘adequately represented´? Hey, I don´t feel adequately represented in the NBA, and I don´t hear a peep from Mfume or Jackson about that!

Discrimination? The NAACP is all for it when it provides special privileges and standards for black and minority children. They´re just against it when it is fairly applied across the board to all students. In spite of the rhetoric, the NAACP and similar race-based groups are the greatest burden to black school children in this country, because of their low expectations for them. Instead of watering down the criteria in order to make the schools and programs ‘look like America,´ why not try a novel approach: How about if you so-called black ‘leaders´ stop blaming the poor educational performance of black children on ‘the white man,´ etc., thus giving these kids a built-in excuse and rationalization for not studying, not working as hard for fear of being accused of ‘acting white,´ etc.?

The school, the program, even the teachers in public schools can´t make learning happen…that´s entirely up to the students. And by making it easy for black students to blame something other than their own efforts, groups like the NAACP are the greatest impediment to closing that performance gap. These are kids, after all; white kids, given the same excuses and rationalizations, the same ‘cultural influences,´ would perform just as dismally.

The biggest favor the NAACP could do for black people, and for this nation, is to make this 93rd year of their existence their last one. Then maybe Americans, whatever their race, could turn their focus away from race, and towards righting some of the destructive social policies of the past four decades, making sure this country will actually have a decent future to offer for all our children.

Of course, if you´ve paid attention to the news the past week or so, you know that the above scenario does, indeed, have to be imagined.

And the title is misleading, imo..

Institutionalized racism??!! Why, I'm afraid you're going to have to explain what it is.

The fact is that Bond, Jackson, Mfume, etal are some of the biggest impediments to improved academic performance by the ethnic group labeled African-American. Everything they do is counter-productive and designed to feather their own nests. These worthless clowns could actually be helping Black children but instead give them reasons to quit trying.

As Ann Coulter has said: "The only two groups left in the US who are obsessed with race are the KKK and the liberals."

The only institutionalized racism left in America is that practised by government - its called "affirmative action".

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