NAACP’s resolution against charter schools contradicts its mission and name

Founded over a century ago, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was created to fight for social justice on behalf of African-Americans whose liberties and freedoms were long oppressed. Advancement of African-Americans was and is central to the organization’s mission. It is embedded in its name.

The NAACP has done immeasurably good things for people of color and its legacy is widely respected. Yet the organization is now under fire after its delegates approved a resolution harshly criticizing public charter schools and calling for a national moratorium on these public schools of choice.

Blowback has been swift and strong. The resolution was condemned by numerous education organizations. Media outlets jumped in, too. The Washington Post called the NAACP’s opposition to charter schools “ill-conceived.” Former Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools Howard Fuller said the NAACP’s undermining of charter schools that are making a difference in the lives of black children “puts the organization on the wrong side of history for our people.” Several other prominent leaders in the African-American community are distancing themselves from the NAACP’s action and pushing back hard.