Mfume, a former Maryland congressman and past chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, did not outline a plan to recruit more students, but he said the effort was sincere. He wouldn't have left a safe seat in Congress -- he was re-elected with about 80 percent of the vote -- unless he was serious about boosting the NAACP, he said.
In the turbulent 1960s, it was college students who led grassroots battles for an end to legal discrimination. College students, especially throughout the South, participated in marches and risked their lives in many civil rights struggles.
Today's students should not forget the examples of the students of the 1960s, he said. "We need young people who believe the power and the premise that all people are created equal."
A Congress that seeks to disenfranchise minorities, a Supreme Court that appears to be reversing laws that help minorities and women and efforts to dismantle affirmative action are part of a new threat to African Americans, he said.
"Don't lose sight of the fact that your generation now has a responsibility -- as does every generation -- to bring about a new existence and a new world order; a new hope, a new horizon, a new opportunity for our nation."
COPYRIGHT 1996 Cox, Matthews & Associates
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
