Ben Jealous Meets the Press
Jealous gives the scoop on stop and frisk, voting rights.
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Food for Thought - NAACP president Ben Jealous was the main course at yesterday's luncheon at the National Press Club. Here's the dish on what he had to say about a broad range of issues, including voting rights, George Zimmerman, stop and frisk – and much more. – Joyce Jones Photo:Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Photo By Alex Wong/Getty Images
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Stop and Frisk - "Probably the biggest obstacle I've faced [fighting for reform of racial profiling practices] has been in New York City and the willingness of Mayor Michael Bloomberg to resort to scare tactics. I hope that someday he'll look into his heart and apologize for what he's done. There is no statistical evidence for [his] claims." (Photo: llison Joyce/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: llison Joyce/Getty Images
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The Civil Rights Case Against George Zimmerman - "We don't think you have to say n-*-*-*-e-r to t-r-i-g-g-e-r civil rights charges," said Jealous, citing actions by Zimmerman that signal a habit of racial profiling. "We have recently delivered 1.7 million signatures to the DOJ from a very diverse range of people in this country who feel the same way, with another 219,000 from Color of Change." (Photo: AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank, Pool)
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How the NAACP Is Addressing Stand Your Ground Laws - "Our folks across the country are focused on finding bill sponsors to introduce repeals of stand your ground laws. We are very pleased that in the meantime they've been successful in blocking any new bills from being passed." (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Does It Take Something Like What Happened to Trayvon Martin to Spur Action? - "What's true about activism is that oftentimes the most horrible cases are the gateways to [action]. So people come into the movement, come into the struggle because they're outraged over a case or somebody that they identify with but they stay in because they say that when we work together we can get a lot of great things done." (Photo: AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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Restoring Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act - "I am most heartened by the message Rep. Joim Sensenbrenner [Wisconsin congressman] delivered to a Republican gathering in recent days talking about his commitment to restoring Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. I'm heartened by the signals House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has sent that he might be willing to support the same thing. And I'm hopeful that Speaker John Boehner will look into his heart and more importantly look into the eyes of John Lewis and recognize [the tradition of both parties aligning on this issue]." (Phtoo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
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Are Voter ID Laws Turning Black Voters Away From the GOP? - "The Republican Party has a proud legacy when it comes to civil rights, but they made a Faustian deal about 40 years ago [with a Southern strategy;, and they are now being called to reckon for it because our country is becoming majority people of color and they need to ask themselves can they survive or do they need to go back to their roots." (Photo: REUTERS/Randall Hill)
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Legislative Goals the NAACP Will Be Pursuing That Could Garner Bipartisan Support - "Voting rights, voting rights, voting rights." (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/ Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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The Next Generation of Civil Rights Leaders - "There are people in states across this country who are doing incredible work that the national media should be paying attention to.…The story is in the states right now when it comes to the change in our country and the heroes are in the states, too." (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)