Organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are not yet obsolete at Ohio University, but it is only a matter of time if they don't become more active on campus.
Our student chapter of the NAACP states on its Web site its goal: To stimulate an appreciation of the African American contribution to U.S. civilization...To create an organization that will stand up for the African American community ... We also will work in the form of preventative action to educate ourselves and others in order to lessen the cases in which formal action will need to be taken ... We strive to create an organization that will stand up for the African American community.
This is quite an audacious message from a well-acclaimed organization that, to my knowledge, has only held one annual program since the 2007 school year. However, this column's purpose is not to put OU's NAACP on the hot seat for things it hasn't excelled at, but to suggest actions the NAACP could take to benefit the African American community.
Aside from hosting the annual Image Awards, which recognize other student organizations for their positive impact on campus and in Athens, the first thing the NAACP should do is make itself more visible. Aside from involvement in resource fairs, the NAACP remains rather unknown on campus. It is important that an organization honoring others for their work also contributes to improving OU. The group prides itself on standing up for the African American community, but it was nowhere to be seen in the midst of recent forums discussing the controversial Fridays Live blackface skit.
Last quarter, The Post ran a series of letters to the editor addressing the controversy over an episode of Fridays Live, a student-run comedy show, in which a student darkened her skin to portray Oprah for a skit. Appearing in blackface is reminiscent of 19th century minstrel shows, where it was used to depict archetypes of American racial attitudes. In the midst of the controversy, there were two discussions held with the crew members of Fridays Live and their advisor. Members of the NAACP were not present at either, nor did they write to The Post. If standing up for the African American community is what they strive for, this would have been an awesome time to take a stand.
Secondly, even if the group only plans one program each year, it could produce a newsletter or utilize its student organization Web site as a means of informing others about the status of the African American community. Their national entity regularly releases The Crisis and produces frequent press releases updating members and nonmembers of the happenings in the black community. I imagine it's much easier for the collegiate branch of the NAACP to keep people abreast, as the African American community it serves is much smaller.
Finally, a formal program, not only to let OU know of the organization's continued existence, but also to work in the form of preventative action to educate [themselves] and others in order to lessen the cases in which formal action will need to be taken would be greatly appreciated and more than likely highly attended by students and faculty.
What I am asking of OU's NAACP is to live up to the legacy of its national organization and the expectations of the black community. In the words of Edward A. Lawrence, 1936 youth member of the NAACP, Flesh and blood and the breath of life must be added to the skeleton we have constructed.
Aisha Upton is a senior studying African American Studies. Feel free, regardless of your cultural identity, to send her rants, raves or anything in between at au173107@ohiou.edu.
4 Opinion
Aisha Upton
