“A People Organization”

NAACP welcomes all people who want to advocate for equality

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) mission statement is to “ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights to all persons and to eliminate raced-based discrimination.”

People meet for the NAACP's Cape County chapter meeting Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, at the Cape Girardeau Public Library. Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

For NAACP branch 4058 president Pat McBride, it means eliminating stereotypes about the organization.

“A lot of people look at NAACP as a black organization, and it’s not,” she says. “It’s a people organization.”

The NAACP was formed in February 1909 in response to racial tensions and lynchings in Springfield, Illinois. Four of the founding members were white.

Therefore, human rights is a key goal of the organization. A lot of the attention goes toward the African-American community because that’s where the NAACP sees the majority of equality problems.

People meet for the NAACP's Cape County chapter meeting Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, at the Cape Girardeau Public Library. Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

Secretary Fonda Davis cares deeply about race relations; it’s why she chose to be a part of this organization over plenty of others.

“It’s something that my husband and I both thought about for some time because we see this town as not terribly accepting of others,” she says.

The Cape County branch puts their focus primarily on the issue of voter education and registration.

“One of the things that I’ve learned is so many people are uneducated about voting,” McBride says. “People that are registered to vote that do not vote. People that just don’t know how to vote. One of the things we do is teach them to study the ballot issues. It’s your vote, not someone else’s.”

Davis recalls a particular incident a couple of years ago where the chapter had an event to register people to vote. An African-American woman came up and when asked if she was registered to vote, said the police would arrest her if they found out she was registered, let alone if she cast a ballot.

That opened the eyes of Davis and the rest of the branch to how important their work is in the community.

“I believe I’ve seen this country grow more accepting of extreme racism. It goes by many names, but it still boils down to that,” Davis says. “To me, that’s not what this country is about. It’s not what I believe anything to be about, faith-wise or in my citizen life.”

Another project they are working on is an endowment for a scholarship through Southeast Missouri State University. Currently, the scholarship is for the amount of $500, which is then matched by the university. Once they have their endowment, it will be funded at $10,000 and awarded to a student within the Southeast Missouri region with financial struggles.

Because the NAACP is a not-for-profit, the scholarship is put together through donations. It’s key fundraiser is the annual Freedom Fund Banquet, which will be held in September.

An additional project was proposed and passed at their first meeting of the year on Jan. 19: the branch will be collecting canned goods and nonperishable food items for The Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau. The idea is for each member to pick up one item during each grocery trip to contribute to a large donation at their monthly meetings.

Davis enjoys providing assistance to those who need it while also promoting the truth about the NAACP.

“This has given me a chance to really get to know some more people in the community and just know them because everyone is alike. We all have the same desires to have a good life, to raise our kids to do the right thing,” Davis says.

The Cape County branch is always welcoming new members. Anyone of any race, ethnicity and age can be a part of the NAACP.

“We need people who want to participate and want to take an active role in their community and the organization and the mission,” first vice president Lloyd Williams says.

The Cape County chapter meets every third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.