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August 19, 2009
E-mail a friendYOUNG VOICES
What They're Not Saying
Bruce Gordon appeared on the program Monday night to discuss his resignation as CEO of the NAACP, but his reasons for leaving remain unclear. “What happened?” asked our host. “It may as much be a conversation… about what didn’t happen,” was his reply, as he went on to discuss in sometimes vague terms his inability to break the organization of some of its outmoded ways.
What exactly happened and what didn’t happen in Gordon’s 19 months as CEO we may never know, his colleagues being equally tight-lipped at present about what disagreements there were. What is clear, however, from Gordon’s statements and those of some board members, is that the NAACP is in need of big changes all around.
Change was just what Gordon promised, his corporate background offering closer ties to big business, and just the kind of fresh perspective of which the 98 year-old civil rights powerhouse was and is in dire need. He proposed a greater emphasis on social service, in addition to civil justice, online outreach to boost flagging membership, and new technologies to make the organization more flexible and responsive to new scenarios. For all of his ideas, however, Gordon was unable to sway the 64-member governing board on much.
The board members’ hesitance says as much about their commitment to the NAACP’s roots as it does about their reluctance to embrace change. There are nobler things in the world than brand-identity and distribution streams, to be sure, and turning the NAACP into a slick, 21st century corporate machine may be a step too far in the wrong direction. Equally disastrous, however, is the inability to adapt to the times, embracing each new age and its challenges and opportunities with the same passion that made the organization great in the first place.