Consumed with getting the NAACP internal house in order, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume conceded on Saturday that the civil-rights group was a tad quiet on the freedom-fighting front this past year.
But things are going to change in a hurry, Mfume promised a group of 300 NAACP members at the group's annual meeting."Last year was a good year for us, but you ain't seen nothing yet," Mfume said to cheers at a meeting which at times resembled a church revival.
The comment addressed criticism Mfume has taken in his first year at the helm of the nation's oldest and largest civil-rights organization from some who complain the former Maryland congressman has done little to restore the spiritual and legislative luster to the group.
With a ministerial fervor flavoring his remarks, Mfume said the organization was launching a five-year, $50-million endowment so the group would not ever be subject to the whims of funding sources "who might not like what we have to say."
"Never again will the NAACP find itself near financial ruin," Mfume said.
Beyond the endowment, Mfume said no issue would be beyond the scope of NAACP comment and lobbying efforts - including police brutality, substandard education, bank red-lining or even the embattled nomination of Alexis Herman to the post of labor secretary.
Mfume, in a press conference after the meeting, said the organization does not want to see Herman's nomination torpedoed by "a whispering campaign" in the same manner as Lani Guinier's nomination to head the civil-rights division of the Justice Department was several years ago.
"We are hoping this nomination will not be withdrawn," said Mfume, adding that he expects to meet with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott regarding the nomination. "The NAACP wants to be part of the pressure vehicle on this issue."
Mfume's comments come at a time when the NAACP, the nation's largest and oldest civil-rights organization, is attempting to refocus itself after several years of internal bickering and severe financial woes.
Though nearly $4 million in debt two years ago, Mfume said the group finished last year with a $2 million surplus.
"We reached the point from two short years ago where we can now hold our heads high," said Myrlie Evers-Williams, chairman of the 64-member national board.
Mfume said he wanted to end the backbiting and power grabs that have scarred the past few years of NAACP operations. He said he would not ever speak badly about another NAACP member.
Mfume, however, could not resist his own edict when he rebuked Michael Meyers, a former NAACP executive, head of the New York Civil Rights Coalition and Mfume critic.
"Brother Meyers, Lord help you," Mfume said as Meyers looked on from the audience. Afterward, Meyers called Mfume's address "empty rhetoric."
Most in the audience, however, had sharply contrasting views from Meyers.
"I thought Mr. Mfume's comments were right on the mark," said Julian Bond, a national board member from Washington D.C. "It's time to turn up the heat on the civil rights front and I glad he's addressing that."