A.M.E. Council of Bishops Issues Open Letter to NAACP

BY KINETICSLIVE

July 7, 2017
Re: NAACP Restructure, Mission and Relevance

The Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church writes to you to reaffirm our support of the NAACP and to express our concerns for the future and relevance of this historic and productive organization. Today we call upon the National Board of the NAACP to restructure the organization, define its mission and set forth its vision, lest it remain on its current path toward irrelevancy and ultimate demise. The Board’s recent decision not to renew the services of Rev. Cornell Brooks, heightens the need and urgency for the NAACP to define why it should continue to exist.

The NAACP boasts that it is the oldest civil rights organization in the country. While this is true and ought to make us proud, longevity alone is not proof of relevance. For the reality is that today the NAACP is smaller and less influential than it has ever been in its history as an organization. Today the NAACP intimidates no one. To be perfectly honest, the same challenges that face the NAACP, face mainline faith denominations. We are old, and have not structured or positioned ourselves to meet the times in which our congregants live. The Black Church is seeking to confront its own challenges, and we call upon the NAACP to do the same. Read more...