NAACP History and College Membership Drive
CSUMB Hosts NAACP College Membership Drive
written by Steven Goings
“In this moment – when congress and governors are doing nothing for job creation, not enough to stem the foreclosure crisis, cutting school budgets when they should be expanding them, participating in a wave of voter suppression – the country and young people need the NAACP more than ever.” –Ben Jealous.
The abolition of lynching and the famous Brown vs. the Board of Education case which led to the legal desegregation of public schools are just two highlights in the storied history of our nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
As part of CSUMB’s Black History Month celebrations, Black Students United (BSU) and Alpha Kappa Psi will host a presentation on the historic role of the NAACP in African American history on Thursday, Feb 23 at the CSUMB Music Hall at 7PM. Associated Students Cultural Enrichment Senator Saesha Hall is arranging for finger foods and refreshments.
This event capitalizes on the buzz surrounding the Monterey County Branch NAACP’s recent 40th Annual Life Membership Banquet held earlier this month at the Hyatt Regency Hotel which celebrated 80 years of the NAACP in Monterey County. The keynote speaker at the banquet was none other than the NAACP’s National President & CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous who is also a Monterey native and favorite son. CSU Monterey Bay was well represented at the banquet with faculty, staff and students. In fact, about half a dozen CSUMB students got to have a private audience with Mr. Jealous before the festivities began!
Many of these same students have been inspired to start a college chapter of the venerable civil rights organization here at CSUMB. The February 23rd program will serve not only as the monthly general membership meeting of the Monterey Branch but also as a membership drive to get CSUMB faculty and staff more involved with the work of the Branch and to establish a college chapter on our campus.
Cierra Bailey of the BSU and Joshua Cole of Kappa Alpha Psi will give a presentation of the national history of the NAACP. Monterey Branch President Mel Mason will present the local history of the Monterey Branch. Mr. Mason is an internationally known political activist. He is a retired counselor and instructor at CSUMB. He is Co-Founder and Executive Director of an African American Family Resource Center called The Village Project, Inc. located in Seaside. The Branch’s committee chairs will highlight the continuing work of the branch and the work that still needs to be done, and CSUMB alum and Branch member Steven Goings will give a presentation on how to start a campus chapter.
In these days of new voting rights restrictions, over incarceration and under education, it is vital that the NAACP and CSUMB work hand in hand on their obvious shared interests. We certainly hope that the CSUMB community will come out to support this event and get involved in the Branch and establishment of a college chapter.
100 Campus Center
