Local chapter of NAACP is reactivated

Cape Girardeau's chapter of the NAACP is returning from a second period of inactivity, and its supporters are hopeful outreach through churches and other means can revive the community's interest in the organization.

The NAACP Chapter 4058 in Cape Girardeau recently became led by Bill Colon, who serves as the chapter's president and presides over monthly meetings at the Cape Girardeau Public Library. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation's oldest civil-rights organization.

Colon, a retired police officer and business owner, was born in Cape Girardeau and moved back to the area after many years in Chicago.

After talks with community leaders, including church representatives, Colon said he saw a need for an active NAACP chapter and since has worked to build membership and get out the word about the organization and its mission, including trying to tamp down what he described as common misconceptions about its purpose.

First, anyone can join the organization, Colon said.

"NAACP is about justice for all people, not just for black people," he said. "This is not just a black organization."

Second, Colon said he views the organization as an advocate for fairness. Though the NAACP is recognized for avid participation in protests and rallies, its stance can be represented peacefully.

"We're not about coming up and only marching," he said. "Marching is the last step of the NAACP. We can get out there now and get the people of Cape educated to know that we're about justice for all, and that's the way it will be going as long as I'm NAACP president."

The chapter has 44 members and is looking to grow past 50 by September, Colon said. If it meets that deadline, the chapter can become recognized by the organization as a chapter in good standing and may cast a vote in elections of officers.

The local chapter last was active for about two years beginning in the fall of 2008, when a group that worked together to promote the election of President Barack Obama became energized to restart the organization in Cape Girardeau.

Membership had fallen in the 1990s, according to Southeast Missourian archives, when the population engaged in the civil-rights movement aged and local leaders moved from the area or died.

The original charter of the Cape Girardeau NAACP branch dates to 1942.

In 2008 and 2009, members of the local chapter worked on initiatives related to education, crime and other issues, speaking to the city council and forming youth and public safety committees.

Dr. Joel Rhodes, a history professor at Southeast Missouri State University, served on the NAACP's board during the period of reactivation and said the local chapter encountered difficulties in translating ideas into tangible results.

"One of the fundamental problems was doing too much too soon," Rhodes said. "I think we had a lot of ambitious ideas and not a great many ideas about how to get that done. It's difficult to sustain that type of energy, to be sure. Many organizations have that problem."

Colon said during upcoming meetings, the chapter will focus on fundraising for potential future events that could include a men's fashion show and black-tie dinner.

The chapter also will continue working to get committees in place.

A religious committee of the organization already is working in the community, and local churches are a great place to start outreach efforts, he said.

The Rev. Kim Nelson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Cape Girardeau, has joined the local NAACP chapter and said he is attempting to get other religious leaders in the community involved.

"I find there is no excuse for any clergy not to join the NAACP, which is for all of our civil rights and human rights," Nelson said.

Nelson said he sees church leaders as "social change agents" in the community and at the same time believes there is "a great interest in increasing the amount of dialogue, and that's going to make our community great, and help us reach goals of all people in the ethnic communities."

Nelson also serves as a chaplain for local law-enforcement agencies.

"I'd rather be proactive in helping taking any pressure points off or perceived injustices in our community when we can get people together to talk," he said.

Nelson, who served a California church that counted nine ethnic groups among its membership, said he finds it interesting there are few local churches in the Cape Girardeau community with racially and ethnically integrated congregations.

The local chapter meets at 1 p.m. the third Saturday of each month at the Cape Girardeau Public Library but instead will meet on the second Saturday in September because of a scheduling conflict.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

711 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO

235 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO