Fw: [Peace-discuss] Join the NAACP? (let's not miss this opportunity)

[Randall Cotton]

For folks in AWARE who may be undecided about whether to join the NAACP
right now, I'd just like to remind folks that "Anti-Racism Effort" is half
of our name, yet our group is almost entirely white and our focus has mostly
been anti-war. These incongruities have been brought out in the open within
the group in the past, though they've never been fully resolved in my view.

I believe that for AWARE folks to join and participate in the NAACP at this
moment in time in support of (and at the invitation of) Carol & Aaron offers
a great opportunity for AWARE to make substantial forward progress in
resolving these incongruities within the group.

I believe that there is nothing wrong with our group being mostly white
while proclaiming that we make an "Anti-Racism Effort". But I also believe
that since we are almost entirely white, that places substantial limits on
what we can accomplish in our Anti-Racism efforts, especially regarding
local racism against African-Americans. If folks in AWARE are serious about
making efforts to fight local racism, I think that also getting involved in
other, multi-racial (even predominantly non-white) anti-racism organizations
would go a long way toward accomplishing that.

And now we are openly being invited to become part of a renewal of the
Champaign County NAACP, a predominantly black organization whose mission is
to fight for racial equality and against racial discrimination and
prejudice. It's the perfect opportunity - we can substantially advance our
"Anti-Racism Effort" so that it comes closer to the extent of our "Anti-War
Effort" while remaining a group that folks join on their own volition (and
not, for instance, a group that might try to artificially "recruit"
non-whites in an attempt to overcome the limitation of being almost
exclusively white.)

Let's not miss this opportunity.

Please attend today's meeting - membership forms will be available. The
annual fee is $30. And time is running out - in order to participate in the
coming NAACP election, completed forms and fees must get to Carol Ammons
before November 11th.

R

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Randall Cotton" <recotton at earthlink.net>
To: "Peace-discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.groogroo.com>
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2004 11:35 AM
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Join the NAACP?


: For more information on recent turmoil in the NAACP, see these News-Gazoo
: stories. If you don't know much about what's been happening with the
NAACP,
: I imagine these can at least provide some basic facts on recent history.
:
: R
:
: NAACP's ex-chief pleads guilty
: By MIKE MONSON
: Published Online September 4, 2004
: http://www.news-gazette.com/story.cfm?Number=16676
:
: NAACP leader resigns for health reasons
:  By PAUL WOOD
: Published Online September 22, 2004
: http://www.news-gazette.com/story.cfm?Number=16787
:
:
:
: ----- Original Message ----- 
: From: "John Wason" <jbw29 at joimail.com>
: To: "Prairie Greens" <prairiegreens at lists.groogroo.com>;
: <cprb at lists.cu.groogroo.com>; "UC Progressives"
: <UCProgressives at lists.groogroo.com>; "Peace-discuss"
: <peace-discuss at lists.groogroo.com>
: Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2004 5:41 AM
: Subject: [Peace-discuss] Join the NAACP?
:
:
: :
: : Dear colleagues,
: :
: : If you've ever given serious thought to joining the NAACP, now would
seem
: to be the time. Following the confusion caused by the former local
: President's indiscretions, membership locally has fallen off, and they're
: conducting a membership drive. In addition, Carol Ammons is throwing her
hat
: into the proverbial ring as a candidate for President of the local branch.
: :
: : Many of you know Carol, who with her husband Aaron is a co-founder of CU
: Citizens for Peace and Justice. They have both been extremely active in
: community organizing, voter registration, and various community-police
: concerns including the taser and eavesdropping issues and the ongoing
effort
: to establish Citizen Police Review Boards in our community. I personally
: have no doubt that Carol, with Aaron's support, is exactly the right
person
: to re-energize the local NAACP and to help build vital bridges across
: University Avenue. She will have my full support.
: :
: : Adult membership is $30/year, and application forms would have to be in
by
: November 11 if you wish to participate in this year's election process.
The
: local NAACP meets on the third Tuesday of each month. Officer nominations
: for this year will take place on November 16, and elections will be held
on
: December 21 unless the date gets changed. You can get an application form
: from Aaron or Carol by e-mailing them at lifestratinst19 at sbcglobal.net.
: They'll be happy to answer any questions you might have. Or I can e-mail
you
: a jpg of the application form (unfortunately not very good quality, but
: legible), which you can print out and fill out. Carol has also written a
: letter regarding her candidacy, which I or the Ammons' can e-mail you if
: you're interested.
: :
: : One caveat: Anyone wishing to join should probably have the intention of
: playing an active role in the NAACP for the long term, and not just be
: joining in order to influence the election. The nature of racial politics
is
: unfortunately such that it would undermine Carol's position in the black
: community if it was thought that she was packing the meeting with white
: folks simply in order to win the election.
: :
: : Thank you for your attention. Please contact me or Carol and Aaron
Ammons
: if you have any questions or concerns. And remember that the application
: deadline is November 11 if you want to have input in the election process.
: :
: : Sincerely,
: :
: : John Wason
:
:
:
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