Race and Remembrance: A Memoir

Appendix F: Elected to the NAACP Presidency for a Third Term

2 4 3 A P P E N D I X F Elected to the NAACP Presidency for a Third Term Remarks by Arthur L. Johnson upon installation in his third consecutive term as president of the Detroit branch NAACP, January 20, 1991. Judge Keith, my colleagues on the branch executive committee who have just been installed with me today, members and friends of the Detroit branch NAACP: I want to express to you my genuine appreciation in being elected to a third consecutive term as your president. I accept all of the obligations that are associated with this important of- fice at this critical time in our struggle and history. You deserve the best that I can give you, and I do not intend to spare myself in responding to the need. I want to express to Judge Damon Keith our gratitude for the role he has played today in these ceremonies. He was due in Cincinnati in connection with his court duties, but he stayed here to give us the helping hand that we needed of him. Most of you know Damon Keith as the great judge that he truly is—sensitive, generous, tough, hard-working, courageous, and unswerving in his devotion to what our nation’s constitution says of opportunity and free speech. We are proud of him, and we proudly claim him as one of our own. Now with all of this, I know Damon Keith as my best friend, and I thank God for enabling us to grow together and to share as much as we have. It is a rich blessing. I want to congratulate all of the members of the executive board who have been elected or appointed and installed today. You are a great team with which to work—each one of you—and in working together and keeping our eyes on the main thing, indeed, on the prize, we can and will make a difference. I was never more inspired by the experience of what one individual—man or woman—can do in changing things than by the deeply moving example of our brother Nelson Mandela. Let us keep the powerful and loving image of this great man along with that of our patron saint—Martin Luther King—ever before us. 2 4 4 | A P P E N D I X F When I came to the presidency of this branch in 1987, I said to you that I wanted us to narrow the focus of our attack, to be more strategic in the definition of our program goals and objectives, and to achieve a greater discipline in the use of our limited resources. I asked you to adopt “Project Freedom”—a plan of action in which we said that our main objective was to break the stubborn shackles of economic oppression that keep black Americans deep in the bowels of poverty, unable to support adequately the education, health, and social needs of the black family and community. We pointed out that the patterns of separation and distance between black and white America, in terms of income and wealth, were widening instead of being reduced. We stated our goals in Project Freedom as follows: 1.To expand our attack on job discrimination at every level. 2.To destroy whenever possible the institutional vestiges of economic discrimination. 3.To expand the thrust of the NAACP’s “Fair Share” program. 4.To support the development of black business enterprise and economic development of the city of Detroit. We have met and are continuing to meet the challenges of Project Freedom with the following actions: • For the first time in the history of the branch, we have established an office solely concerned with complaint investigation and adjustment. • We have conducted a highly successful campaign to change the lending, promotional, and development financing practices of the Detroit banks. • And we now have in motion a lawsuit against AAA of Michigan that is designed to break the pattern of discriminatory automobile insurance rates by the auto insurance industry in Michigan. In this work, I salute Butch Hollowell, in particular. • We have successfully negotiated with General Motors a number of constructive program changes and measures that will be helpful to black dealers and suppliers. Here I salute Sharon McPhail for her diligence in advancing the goals of our Fair Share program. NAACP Presidency for a Third Term | 2 4 5 • Finally...