NAACP’s Turnover Not a Problem

To the Editor:

Your recent article on the NAACP (“Citing Conflict With the Board, the Head of the NAACP Steps Down,” March 22) may have caused some misperceptions, and I am writing to correct them.

We have only had six CEO’s in 90 years — a good record for nonprofit organizations. Through all these years, the board has set policy that the CEO was obliged to follow. No recent CEO reported to the full board; instead, the CEO’s reported to a small executive committee, and none found it onerous until now.

The NAACP is one of the country’s largest and most successful self-help organizations. For example, we’ve had social-service programs for many decades. We’ve had a “Back to School, Stay in School” program for nearly 20 years, and the country’s largest competitive scholarship program for black youth — ACT-SO — for 29 years; we’ve conducted SAT-preparation workshops for college-bound teens for 10 years, have several college-scholarship programs, and run antipregnancy workshops.

We do more — but we are primarily a social-justice organization and that will continue to be our primary focus.

Julian Bond
Board Chairman
NAACP
Baltimore