NAACP gears up for the count

Ninety-one years into its history, the NAACP still confronts many of the problems that plagued it almost a century ago. Although the organization has achieved unprecedented success in almost every aspect of American life, it cannot rest on its laurels. The NAACP's struggle to make democracy work is continuous.

Nowhere is this struggle more obvious than in the organization's ongoing battle to secure first class citizenship rights by use of the vote. In this battle of electoral politics, President/CEO Kweisi Mfume has set goals for the NAACP to (1) register four million voters, (2) increase voter turnout in the November 7 general elections, and (3) help in getting an accurate and full count in the 2000 census.

Every NAACP branch, youth council, college chapter and state conference was asked to initiate active programs for voter registration and voter education during this election year. This year's primaries, particularly those on Mega Tuesday (March 7) and Super Tuesday (March 14) are important because in this electoral cycle they will determine members of the electoral college and subsequently the presidential nominees. Hence mobilization of the African American vote is key in both the primaries and the general election. The NAACP's program to make this happen is called "Voter Empowerment." Earl Shinhoster is director of the program. Last December, Shinhoster asked all NAACP units to "reverse the long slide into voter apathy and citizenship neglect." The NAACP plans to stop that slide this election year by developing a strategy to persuade individuals to take personal responsibility and participate in the political process.

"We must train a strong cadre of leaders equipped with the tools and resources necessary to meet the challenges ahead of us," Shinhoster said. "We need the branches' collaboration and coordination to help us develop new approaches and methods of communicating and delivering information to voters."

On January 15, the NAACP Voter Empowerment Program held a workshop in Atlanta focusing on strategies and techniques for implementing voter registration and education.

The NAACP believes that voter empowerment can have an impact on public policy and improve the quality of life in African American communities. It developed a baseline survey to gather information for this purpose. The survey was on the Internet at www.dogonvillage.com under the heading, "NAACP Voter Empowerment Zone."

Also, the NAACP is committed to achieving a full and accurate count of all residents during this 2000 census. All branches, youth units and state conference branches have been urged to establish full count committees within their units and initiate to work with city, county and state governments in establishing a process for an accurate count. Further, NAACP units are urged to help recruit the enumerators to be hired to work in the various neighborhoods.

Shinhoster said, "The Census is about power-political and economic power. If we are not counted in, we will lose political representation and federal funding for programs we may find critical."