Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 7, 1995                   TAG: 9511070084
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

NAACP KIDS NEED A FEW GOOD ADULTS

Lomax, who was named state youth adviser of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on Sunday, wants to help change that.

``Everybody wants to talk about the youth ... but they say `Ooh, I'm scared of the young people wearing the earrings and baggy jeans,''' said Lomax, who also advises the 450-member youth chapter in Richmond. ``They're not looking at what's inside their minds.

``A lot of things need to be done - getting people to come out and work with youth - because they're our future.''

Lomax's job is to organize and revitalize Virginia's NAACP youth councils, which have existed since the 1940s, she said.

There are about 1,000 youth NAACP members across the state, she said. Nationwide, there are about 75,000 members in almost 600 youth councils, said Linda Hursey, a spokeswoman for NAACP headquarters in Baltimore.

Members of the youth chapters are planning an extensive membership drive and are planning programs to deal with violence, drugs, teen pregnancy and other issues that affect young people.

In Prince William County, Potomac Senior High School students Nelson Madison and Ellis Venabel are helping organize a local youth chapter. The group will be governed like the adult branch of the NAACP, with an executive board and various committees.

``We're going to do as much as we can to improve the schools and the community, not just for blacks, but for everybody in it,'' Madison said.

The teen organizers said their chapter will focus on creating a youth center, pushing voter registration and promoting multiculturalism in schools.

``We've come a long way,'' said Blair Lockamy, a Woodbridge High School senior. ``But we've still got a long way to go. I hope this brings the black students of the community together.''

In Fauquier County, NAACP President Conway Porter said his branch doesn't have a youth chapter but is trying to start more programs for young people.

Lomax says adults need to start supporting their children, rather than just drop them off at meetings. She is planning a retreat with adult advisers to train them to recruit other parents to help with the youth groups.

Many of today's youth know nothing about the civil rights movement because their parents weren't involved in the struggle, and the parents who were haven't passed on their knowledge.

``Sometimes we can get so caught up in our jobs and on material things,'' Lomax said. ``Since integration, some people think there's no need for the NAACP. But there's a greater need now than in the 1960s.

``The NAACP helped them get the house of their choice, the job that they need. But after they get it, they forget where they come from.''