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The NAACP¹s President/CEO Kwesi Mfume at the Caribbean Summit on Wednesday morning (7/16/2003) declared his organizations commitment to become the major lobbying force for Caricom in this country.  
            The burning question is whether this is a futile task for the Democratic Party¹s main ally in a Republican controlled White House and Congress.  How can Mfume accomplish such a task when the Caricom¹s Heads of State keep their physical and political distance from the African-American Community on their numerous trips to Washington D.C., New York and South Florida?  Furthermore, it is a difficult task during the George W. Bush¹s tenure, which looks as if it is going to be extended to a second term.  Presently, the NAACP¹s hierarchy has been unable to have a meeting with the occupant of the White House.  On the other hand, he has met with more than fifteen visiting African Heads of State in the White House and recently returned from the Ancestral continent where he toured Senegal, Uganda and Nigeria.  In a painful voice, Mfume, in his opening address on Sunday night, stated, ³I think it is a little ironic that the President would go to Africa but won¹t meet with Black leaders here.²
            On the local arena, it is a bit disturbing to hear Bill McCormick, President of the NAACP, Fort Lauderdale Branch, addressing this most sensitive issue of political and social distance between African-Americans and Caribbean immigrants.  He is a bit disingenuous when he told the Herald¹s Sonji Jacobs, ³Unfortunately, we have some people form the African Diaspora who don¹t know our pivotal role.²  Please see Sonji Jacobs, NAACP Reaches out to Caribbean Immigrants, The Miami Herald, Broward Edition, Wednesday July 16, 2003, Page 1A and 18A.  Although there are Caribbean born members on his Executive Board, the Fort Lauderdale Branch of the NAACP has a dismal record of extending its hands of friendship and tolerance to Caribbean immigrants.  Its President knows of the existence of at least three Caribbean-American newspapers in his midst, and not one of these publishers/editors were informed of the Caribbean Summit until it was published in the white mainstream papers.
            It is important to point out that the Caribbean Summit was addressed by the Consular Generals in Miami from St. Lucia, Barbados and Jamaica.  These government officials were a bit uncomfortable by the comments made during their speeches by delegates, especially form New York, on the attitudes of their fellow citizens.  These delegates made it known that in most cases, the Caribbean immigrants are reaping from the violent Civil Right Movement and they won¹t reciprocate by becoming citizens and voting for African-American candidates.
            President Mfume should reconsider his enthusiastic decision to become the major lobbing Voice for Caricom.  He should assign his administrative staff similar reporting duties on Caribbean Governments on how they spend their huge sums of foreign exchange in this country.  He needs to ask these Caricom Heads of State why is it that their Tourism¹s Advertising and public relations accounts of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars end up year after year in White advertising/public relations agencies in New York, Washington D.C., and Miami.  Why is there a glaring absence of African-Americans in these profitable and exploitative advertising agencies?
            A worrisome feature of the 94th NAACP¹s Annual Conference was the absence of major Caribbean businesses on the display floor of the Convention Center on Tuesday July 16, 2003, and at the Spingarn Medal Award Ceremony on Thursday night.  It is time for every Caricom Country¹s Tourist Board and ethnic minority owned Air Jamaica and hotel chains such as Sandals/Beaches and Super Clubs to become significant sponsors of the NAACP and Urban League Annual National Conferences.  The Dennis Morrison chaired Jamaican Tourist Board in its ten years Master plan still does not prioritize the $4 billion African-American Travel Industry.  Once again, the officials of the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Puerto Rican based Caribbean Tourist Organization failed to show up at such an important African-American Conference.  Sadly enough, every year they spend hundreds of thousands of foreign exchange to attend Tourist Conventions in Europe.
            A lot of work needs to be done by both sides of the Diasporas before there is genuine friendship and economic partnership.  President Mfume should extend an invitation for Prime Minister Patterson to be his Keynote Speaker on the opening night of the   96th NAACP Annual Conference in Philadelphia, July 10-16, 2004.  The Jamaican Consular General, either in New York, Dr. Basil Bryan or Ricardo Allicock in Miami, should encourage Prime Minister Patterson to invite President Kwesi Mfume to Jamaica as a Keynote speaker at the P.N.P.¹s Annual Conference in September 2003. 

The 88th NAACP Spingarn Medal Ceremonies
             The Civil Rights pioneer and distinguished Jurist, Constance Baker Motley, was this year¹s honoree.  This Columbia University Law graduate (1945) was chosen for her total commitment to equality for her people in the schools, at the workplace and within the judicial system.
            An impressive group of corporate sponsors had their representative re-affirm their commitments to diversity at this event on Thursday night, July 17, 2003.  The B.M.W. North American representative, V.P. Ed Robinson, led off the effusive praises for Judge Constance Baker-Motley.  He saw this selection as the NAACP¹s genuine commitment to gender empowerment and a meritocracy.  The former Clinton Cabinet member and now chair, Diversity Committee of the Board, MGM Mirage, Ms. Alexis Herman, mentioned that this is one of the most important duties she has carried out in her entire professional career.  She deemed it an honor to be able to tell   Judge Constance Baker-Motley ³Thank you so much² for breaking down the glass ceilings and utilizing her enormous legal expertise to desegregate the school systems in this country.  The President of U.P.S. Foundation/V.P. Corporate Relations, Evern Cooper, mentioned that this selection ³goes far beyond this conference.  It is a convincing legacy that every person can live out his/her dream.  We build on this historic legacy by honoring the recipient.²  The Senior Executive Vice President of Wachovia, Mac Everett, took the opportunity to inform this distinguished audience that an appreciation of Judge Constance Baker-Motley¹s relentless judicial efforts since the historic 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas decision to provide equal opportunities for Black children, his corporation is contributing $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
            The Chairman of the NAACP, Professor Julian Bond, introduced the visiting professor from New York Law School, the presenter of the 88th Spingarn Medal, the controversial Derrick Bell.  We were reminded that Mr. Bell ³challenged the rest of us with his uncompromising candor.  He is best known for his decision in 1992, to give up his enviable tenured professorship at Harvard Law School due to it's reluctance in hiring women of color to professorships.  At the Oregon Law School, he resigned his Deanship in 1972, when the University refused to hire an Asian female legal scholar, although she was recommended for a tenured position.²
            The 88th Spingarn Medal honoree has an unparalleled legal career.  Professor Bell took us through her four decades representing minorities and fighting for justice.  He remaindered us that President Abraham Lincoln pointed out that ³an independent voice is God¹s gift to the nation.  If that is true, then Justice Constance Baker-Motley is an exemplary figure for America.²  She argued ten cases before the United States Supreme Court on desegregation issues, and only lost once.  She worked on the briefs for the Landmark 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education, Kansas case.  She is the ³Queen of Firsts² by becoming the first woman to become President of a New York Borough.  Equally important, she became the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Bench.  ³Hers is a voice of reason and uncompromising defiance on behalf of her people.²  Not only is she an eloquent speaker, but a good cook, wife, mother and grandmother.   
It was spell binding hearing Justice Constance Baker-Motley in her ³Thank you² speech telling us about her interesting legal career and her numerous roles as a Law Student, a Legal Clerk working with the legal luminary, Thurgood Marshall, and her marriage of fifty-seven years.
(Pictorial) More pictures....

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