"The president being Black gives us no advantage," said Jealous, who took over in September, adding that Obama's background as a community organizer and civil rights lawyer may make him more receptive to the NAACP's agenda.
Jealous outlined several issues for Obama to address his first year in office: ensuring fair distribution of federal bailout funds, programs and contracts; reducing double-digit Black unemployment; dealing with lenders who push minorities with good credit into subprime mortgages; reducing the disparity between unsolved homicides in minority and White communities; and ensuring that minority children have access to good schools.
The NAACP also has prepared a list of judges, from the federal bench down to the local level, for consideration when vacancies arise.
NAACP chapters are investigating deaths in police custody in at least five states, Jealous said. And he referenced street protests in Oakland, Calif., after the fatal New Year's Day shooting of a 22-year-old unarmed Black man by a transit police officer. The shooting was caught on cell-phone videos and replayed on the Internet. Jealous said rioting in winter is rare, and added, "We should be concerned about what the summer will look like."
NAACP members today are not satisfied with simply having a Black president, Jealous said. "What they want to know is: 'What problem in my life will he be solving? Dad's out of work, Mom's not getting paid enough, the kids' school is an embarrassment. What is he doing for me?"'
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