ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 2, 1997 TAG: 9701310013
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
"The NAACP has not always led the way as we should have," says Martin Jeffrey, the new president of the Roanoke branch of that organization.
But, if Jeffrey has his way, that will be changing.
"We can't just stand on the sidelines complaining," Jeffrey said in a recent interview.
Instead, he intends to lead the Roanoke unit of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People into a new century in a renewed spirit of activism.
This new era for the NAACP coincides with what Jeffrey and other black leaders see as a renaissance of activism among blacks in the Roanoke Valley that transcends any single organization.
Jeffrey took over the reins of the NAACP in January after being elected to the presidency last fall.
At 34, he is the local organization's youngest president and succeeded the Rev. Charles Green, a 72-year-old retired pastor.
The change in leadership here follows changes at the national level as well. New president Kweisi Mfume has brought the national NAACP out of $4 million in debt and refocused the organization on its primary mission of civil rights.
He has led a renewed national agenda that seeks to ensure those rights through economic development, an emphasis on educational issues and voter registration.
All of those are completely in line with the goals of the Roanoke branch, Jeffrey said.
The NAACP is a "natural place" to work on that agenda, Jeffrey said, given its history of "setting the tone and leading the debate" on civil rights.
This is a time of "renewed relevance" for the organization, he said, as it pursues its goals of civil rights and justice.
"We are poised for partnership, but ready for confrontation" with government or other institutions if that is necessary to pursue the agenda, Jeffrey said.
While the NAACP in Roanoke has a distinctive program from the city's two other black activist groups, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Rebuilding Black Communities, all three organizations have many common aims, he said.
"We look to work in partnership" with both of those other groups, Jeffrey said. "We can develop some joint strategies and encourage a common vision for the community - something we all can espouse."
But each group has its place, Jeffrey said, articulating and pursuing their individual goals.
And there may be times when the NAACP may need to confront government or some other elements of the community in its quest for civil rights.
"We have to to say wrong is wrong, or right is right," Jeffrey said.
The pursuit of that ethical agenda may be enhanced with what Jeffrey hopes will be a renewed commitment to the NAACP from the valley's black religious congregations.
Last month, Jeffrey organized a news conference attended by more than a dozen local ministers - including the president of a black Baptist ministerial association representing some 65 congregations - in a reaffirmation of churches' historic support of the NAACP.
The Rev. Shadrach Brown, pastor of Garden of Prayer 7, Church of God in Christ, said, "We want the NAACP to know that we are behind their organization 100 percent."
He and some of the other pastors mentioned specific concerns they hope to join the NAACP in addressing - such as the "deterioration of our community," cases of "young people being incarcerated unjustly," and making sure that children have educational opportunities.
"We have to make sure kids stay in school," said Jeffrey, a divorced father of three school-aged children. "And we have to see that our schools are the kinds of places they want to stay in."
The churches also are custodians of an invaluable resource in the community, Jeffrey pointed out, as the owners of "thousands of square feet of space that is being unused most of the week."
As director of community development and outreach for Total Action Against Poverty, that is the kind of resource Jeffrey always has an eye on.
The churches could provide space for after-school tutoring, computer labs and other education and community needs, he said.
Public-school buildings likewise are largely unused for a couple of months a year and also could be used to serve the community.
"There is plenty of responsibility to go around" for the under-use of community physical facilities, he said.
The churches also can serve as bases for inspiring more people to register to vote, Jeffrey said.
"This fall we're going to see more people working to maximize the influence" the black community can have on elections, particularly in the General Assembly.
"We are going to demand more accountability, more front-end commitments" from politicians who seek the endorsement - and votes - of their black constituents, he said.
"We have been too fragmented in the past. We must work for the benefit of the whole community, not just the black community."
The black community must attempt to exert influence through cohesive, united efforts to alter both the political and economic status quo, he said.
"Our economic clout is under-used" as well, Jeffrey said, both in terms of assuring equal opportunities for blacks and encouraging economic growth that will create more jobs.
Creating jobs - and getting blacks hired in them - is critical in the rehabilitation of the significant percentage of young black men who are in jail and prison, he said.
Staying in contact with those men in prison is essential, as is working to assure that their treatment is humane and geared toward rehabilitation, Jeffrey said.
"We must make sure the community they return to is ready to reacclimate them into society, to keep them out of prison," Jeffrey said. That means "generating jobs and business."
The NAACP will attempt to interact with the whole community, Jeffrey said, not just its black citizens.
"I'm happy about the possibilities," Jeffrey said. "It is a good time to try to frame the debate."
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