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Mfume
denounces local NAACP leader for criticizing military response to terrorism
Associated Press
September 19 2001, 11:43 AM EDT
DURHAM,
N.C. -- NAACP President Kweisi Mfume has denounced one of the group's
local leaders for criticizing a military response to terrorism and
saying many World Trade Center companies discriminated against blacks.
Durham NAACP President Curtis Gatewood said blacks would be sent to the
front lines of any war, only to return home and ``be discriminated
against by people whose businesses were headquartered in the World Trade
Center.''
``This is not the time to sacrifice our fathers, sons and brothers to a
country that has not protected our rights,'' he added.
Mfume said Gatewood's remarks directly contradict the NAACP's position
on the issue, which calls for ``all Americans to stand united and to
defend the ideals of a free and open society where terrorism has no
place.''
``Mr. Gatewood surely has a right to his beliefs, but they are not the
beliefs of the NAACP,'' Mfume said Tuesday during a telephone interview
with The Herald-Sun of Durham.
The national office would probably contact Gatewood to discuss the
matter, Mfume said.
``This is not a time to sit back and pontificate with pointed fingers
about the fact that there are imperfections in our society. This is a
time to find a way as Americans _ without the hyphen _ to work together
to protect our way of life and the lives of innocent people,'' Mfume
said.
Gatewood, who in 1995 proposed that blacks boycott Santa Claus because
he said Christmas put too many black families in debt, said his call to
refrain from violence reflects the NAACP's nonviolent, spiritual and
cultural roots. Black Americans should not listen to the nation's
arrogant calls for blind patriotism, retaliation and hatred, he said.
Gatewood added that the attacks may have come from foreign forces that
view the American government and current administration as a ``threat to
justice everywhere.''
Several local and state NAACP members condemned Gatewood's statement
Tuesday and said they had not seen it before its release.
Florine Roberson, a board member and local chapter past president, said
she had received several calls from unhappy members.
``I don't think his comments are appropriate during the crisis that we
are going through now,'' Roberson said. ``This is a time that all
Americans -- black and white, Jews and gentiles -- need to come together
in unity.'' |
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