Rev. Michael Latham, executive director of Fort Wayne NAACP won his re-election bid for president. This election, according to a blog post by Vince Robinson, was a close one. Latham winning only by a slight margin. This could be membership sending a message to the NAACP leader, that the community expects more from the NAACP leadership.
According to an article in the Journal-Gazette, Latham took the high road and offered his contender an olive branch. In other words, Latham suggested that Robinson is needed in the organization. Latham is on the right track, the work of the membership is just as important as the networking that Latham is doing for the organization.
This was not a political election and Robinson should be commended for showing that if leadership is not going in the right direction it will be challenged. At times the election battle got ugly, which could have injured the organization. But instead it appears to have mobilized the membership in to action. That's a good thing.
In addition, the membership should be informed about any disagreements before the media is brought in. The membership pay to be told of any changes before contacting or granting headline grabbing attention getting moments in the media. The NAACP is made up of its membership not just of it's leader or political parties.
Independent,
ReplyDeleteLet me make clear my intention to CONTINUE to work with the NAACP. But in regard to Mike Latham's "olive branch," as you put it, Mike's repeated comments to the media and to branch members suggesting that I have been an outsider with little or no connection to the NAACP were just downright, desperate lies. There's no other way to put it. Look at the facts:
1) I'm not sure whether you're a subscriber to Ink, but our newspaper has done more positive, front-page stories on the NAACP that ANY other newspaper in town. Period.
2) In August, Mike and the local NAACP gave me an award (you can come by and see it at my office) thanking me for helping plan, organize and execute this year's NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet - the most profitable in years. I wrote and mailed each and every one of the fundraising letters. I wrote the scripts for the event. I designed, created and mailed/distributed the postcards, flyers and posters - all at my personal expense.
3) The United For A Change Program adds hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars to the NAACP coffers every week (although the branch can barely afford to keep the lights on - does something seem odd to you?). I designed all of the posters and banners used to promote the program - again, at my expense. I even participated in the initial meetings with Scott's Food & Pharmacy, which donates a portion of its Wednesday sales at the Decatur Road Store. (Mike repaid me by convincing Scott's to stop advertising in Ink when I dared to question the direction in which the branch was headed.)
4) I created, printed and paid for the branch's new letterhead and stationary. (Although Mike was careful to use OLD stationary when he mailed a deceitful letter to members attacking me with the lie that I wasn't helpful to the branch. Obviously, using the new stationary would have blown his cover.)
5) I'm a former NAACP Executive Committee member who has received extensive training on NAACP rules and by-laws. In fact, I was in the same training sessions as Mike.
6) I sacrificed a number of Saturday mornings to participate in the branch's strategic planning process, usually sitting right next to Mike.
7) At Mike's personal request, I've volunteered my time to attend meetings, on behalf of the branch, with local police, businesses and government leaders.
Maybe this all just slipped Mike's mind? Hmm, I doubt it. So, don't believe Mike's hype that I haven't been active with the local NAACP. It was just that I had the nerve to stand up and suggest that the branch should be doing a lot more. He didn't like that, so the good Reverend decided that bearing false witness against thy neighbor was the best way to stay in "power."
I leave you with something to think about: In patting himself on the back for a record election turnout, Mike accidentally revealed the truth about branch membership levels. Mike HAD been claiming 500 members - but the REAL number was revealed to be fewer than 200. However in 1998 when Latham took office, the number was around 1,500. It turns out that members had been voting on Mike's leadership all along - they'd just been doing it with their feet.
If I sound bitter, I'm really not. While Mike's lying obviously gets under my skin (I find liars exhausting), I do feel that he has other good qualities that could make him a great leader. But you can't lead without followers, so Mike needs to get busy to regain the trust of the hundreds of people who have left the branch, and the thousands of others who need to join and be active. And if he wants to lead, we, as members, have a right to expect, and demand, that he do what leadership requires.
I've stayed a member, I've stayed active and I ran for branch president because I don't think we can afford to turn our backs on this organization.
I hope you feel the same way and join the local NAACP.
Vince Robinson