BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
In Cincinnati on Friday for the 43nd annual NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner, Chairman Julian Bond reaffirmed the organization's commitment to reviving its activist tactics.
"For 89 years, the NAACP has been a strong fighter for justice," he said. "And we are determined to fight as long and as hard as we can until racial discrimination is (ended)."
The nation's preeminent civil rights organization had been largely dormant during the past three years as it struggled with financial chaos and scandal. Its voice was barely audible on major concerns affecting minorities.
Mr. Bond, 58, elected chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People this year, was the keynote speaker at the annual dinner at the Hyatt Hotel downtown. Mr. Bond is also a history professor in Washington, D.C.; a frequent radio and television commentator; and chairman of the NAACP's publication, Crisis Magazine.
The dinner, with the theme: "Preparing Tomorrow's Leaders Today," drew a large audience of supporters.
During the dinner, Richard G. Ellenberger, of Cincinnati Bell, was awarded the 1998 Wright-Overstreet Memorial Award for philanthropy. The awards for community service were presented to two former Cincinnati Bengals: Louis Breeden, president of Louis Breeden Promotions, and Issac Curtis, national director-athletic travel for Winegardner & Hammons Inc.
Sharon J. Zealey, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, was presented with the Theodore M. Berry Award for achievement in the political arena and in service to the community.
Dr. Obadiah Williams, founder of O.W. Motivational Inc., received the Wright-Overstreet award for education.
At a news conference prior to the event, Mr. Bond, a former Georgia legislator, made it clear that the NAACP was set to revive its activist role and reclaim its stature as the leading advocate of civil rights. "Our agenda will be the same in the 21st century as it was when slavery ended and the 20th century began," he said. "And that agenda is to fight against racial discrimination.'
Mr. Bond said as the millennium approaches, the NAACP will continue to encourage African-Americans to vote in large numbers, complain about injustices and rally against inequality.
"We believe that we are doing America's work," he said. "We believe that everyone should work and strive for the highest possible standards, to achieve their very best. This country won't be the best until (everyone) is included.
"And even though things are better now than they were years ago, there are still innumerable (obstacles) that (minorities) have to overcome," he said. "The signs of racism today are a little more subtle in that we don't see the signs "white' and "colored' anymore. But racism still exists."
He said the NAACP is spending nearly $70,000 in Washington state to combat Initiative 200, which would outlaw government programs that extend preferences based on race or sex.
Mr. Bond also applauded NAACP President and Chief Executive Officer Kweisi Mfume's blasting of the United States Supreme Court's "dearth of minority law clerks."
Mr. Mfume recently noted that of the 394 clerks working for the nation's highest court, only seven are black.
Recruiting more members is a priority for the 500,000-member organization over the next several years, Mr. Bond said.
"We would like to double our membership within the next year, especially with our youth," he said. "Of course, we've always had a strong youth membership. In fact right now, we have more youth in our group than adults." The Associated Press contributed to the report.
