Before Baltimore Burned, Where Was the NAACP?
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has set up a satellite office in Baltimore to collect local reports of police brutality and racial profiling. The organization plans to contribute this information towards the Justice Department’s investigation of the Baltimore Police Department.
But where was the NAACP before the riots, while black Americans in Baltimore suffered under failed big-government policies?
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the NAACP is silent. For years, they have put progressive political interests over the issues most relevant to black Americans today. They have denied black conservatives – including myself– the opportunity to speak at their national conference.
Now would be the time to start a conversation about the true roots of poverty and joblessness in the black community. According to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, a troubling “96% of adults surveyed said it was likely there would be additional racial disturbances this summer, a signal that Americans believe Baltimore’s recent problems aren’t a local phenomenon but instead are symptomatic of broader national problems.”
Let’s hope the NAACP begins proactively working to help black communities through education and empowerment, rather than waiting until the news cameras show up to help pick up the pieces.
