Bruce Gordon Don't Leave Us

With the talented Bruce Gordon leaving the National Advancement of Color People civil right ogranization mean the legendary NAACP is no longer needed? No, it means just what Gordon stated, the two were not on the same page.

Gordon said that while the NAACP is an advocacy organization, it needs to be more focused on service and finding solutions

from

CNN.com

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It that statement, Gordon wanted a more hands on working with the people. Gordon was seeking ways to meet the needs of the people, by including these folks. By meeting the demands of the people in which the NAACP is representing creates a synergy. The synergy is the services that addresses the inequalities experienced within the communities. This connects the communities to the meaning of the organization, while at the same time grows the membership.

The NAACP has two fabulous assets: a well recognized brand and 2000 operating units across the country. These are assets that can be very powerful, but they are underperforming. There has to be an acceptance, a willingness to change. You can't do the same thing for 98 years and expect that you will succeed…. In business terminology we would argue that organizations that are no longer customer focused, who lose the heart of the customer, who lose the choice of the customer, will ultimately fail. I'm afraid that at this very point that our organization is more internally focused than externally focused,. That keeps us from being great and allows us to only be good. I think that the NAACP has powerful potential, but that potential will never be realized if we go about our work using 20th century approaches,

from the EURweb

Another way to view Gordon departure, is Gordon did not want to simply connect the internal members with hnd handshakes and special perks from movers and the shakers. Gordon wanted the grass root members to be included in the prosperity with business opportunities with the corporation sponsors. The gives more value to the organization rather than being an organization showing up as a savior during a period of crisis in the community.

The NAACP legacy is one of legal justice. A better fit for Gordon would be the Urban League which is about social service to the membership. The Urban League is a self-help organization. Gordon wants the civil organization to motivate the people to find the solution to their problems instead of waiting for the Bush Administration and local government to provide the resources. This would involve the two organizations entering the businesses of real estate, education, and housing. This would involve physical work and dollar investment. Hopefully, Gordon departure has freed him up to find another fit.