From the President
Congratulations are in order for the N.A.A.C.P.
We begin celebrating 100 years of existence having organized February, 1909 in Niagara Falls, New York; by Mary White Ovington, W.E.B. DuBois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Mary Church Terrell as a result of lynching and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois. We continue to stand tall as the oldest civil rights organization.
Bethlehem N.A.A.C.P. was organized in 1945 by a group of progressive Negroes. We honor their foresight, in memoriam: Officers: Booker Francis, President, Nettie Morsell, Vice President, Dorothy White, 2nd V.P., Thelma Dennis, Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Charlotte Jay, and Theodore White, Treasurer as reported in the records when they held their “3rd Charter Night Dinner.” These local men and women paved the way for us and we continue to provide oversight to our community for equal rights, education, fair housing, equal employment and social justice. I am especially grateful to Rosa Parks who was tired that day… and did not give up her seat on that bus. Sounds a little like a position I would have taken. We’ve come a long way but we have a long way to go.
2009 sees our Civil Rights struggle continuing. Incidents reported are similar to those of the past. Education is our civil rights issue for the 21st Century. School leaders seem to be politically motivated rather than educationally directed. Educators have “missed the boat” communicating with today’s students. With the transition to technology, the education system was unprepared for change. What I know is that basic education has been lost. Somehow the basic life for families changed, Christian life is misdirected—there is limited parental control and discipline has become a distraction. School discipline has been relegated to the Police Department. Now instead of teaching students, there is the “PSSA Test” which serves as the gauge for measuring student knowledge.
Locally, there is improvement in the scores of local African American students and the saving grace is the election of the first African American President, Barack Obama, which will inspire African American youth to succeed. IT RESTORES THEIR HOPE!
Sincerely,
Esther M. Lee
