The head of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People resigned Thursday night amid criticism of his organization’s decision to honor Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
“Please be advised that the legacy, history and reputation of the NAACP is more important to me than the presidency,” L.A. chapter President Leon Jenkins wrote in his letter of resignation. “In order to separate the Los Angeles NAACP and the NAACP from the negative exposure I have caused the NAACP, I respectfully resign my position as President of the Los Angeles NAACP.”
Sterling was scheduled to receive a lifetime achievement award from the chapter in May, but the organization decided to no longer honor him after a recording surfaced of Sterling telling his girlfriend not to take pictures with blacks or bring black people to his basketball games.
That recording led NBA commissioner Adam Silver to ban Sterling from associating with the Clippers or the league for life.
“There is a personal, economical and social price that Mr. Sterling must pay for his attempt to turn on racial relations,” Jenkins said in a press conference the day before Silver’s decision. He also announced that the chapter would return Sterling’s donations.
But as TPM has noted, Sterling’s cozy relationship with the Los Angeles NAACP under Jenkins’ leadership extended beyond that one award and a few donations. The branch gave Sterling another award back in 2009 for what was described as either lifetime achievement or humanitarian work — the same year Sterling was sued by a former Clippers general manager for wrongful termination on the basis of race and settled a $2.73 million lawsuit with the Justice Department for allegedly refusing to rent apartments to blacks and Hispanics.
The NAACP’s national office told TPM on Monday that it’s developing a better vetting process for awards given out by local chapters after the Los Angeles branch was forced to reverse its decision to honor Sterling.
Are they giving back the money Sterling must have given them so he could get that lifetime achievement award?
From the article:
“He also announced that the chapter would return Sterling’s donations.”
So, yes.
Not that many comments so far on this issue, but giving back the money and a change at the top does not really address the issue, which is that a group created to address the ills of racism is just as prone to corruption as any other group in this country.
As he should!
Based on what I have been reading Sterling’s attitude towards minorities was well known in L.A. so I am not sure how the L.A. NAACP chapter could have given him an award. Well, I do know, it was bought and as with a lot of organization, all that concerns them is money.
Not sure how? Even the NAACP will turn a blind eye when chasing dollars. His racism and racist behavior was well known in the community and yet they were about to hand him his second award from them. Sterling is a reprehensible pig, but the NAACPs behavior in this instance isn’t a whole hell of a lot better.