Delaware State News
DOVER — Cecil C. Wilson, who can claim nearly a half-century in the civil rights movement, aims to share his enthusiasm for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People — especially with the young.
"It’s time to pass the torch," says the vice president of the NAACP’s Central Delaware Branch and a retired Capital School District principal, who traces his activism to his days at Chester (Pa.) High School and Delaware State College.
Mr. Wilson hardly is alone in that sentiment. Across the nation, the NAACP is focusing this fall on building its membership, with a particular focus on young adults.
One of the leaders in that effort will be featured Friday evening at 7 as the Central Delaware Branch holds a public meeting at Mount Zion AME Church, 101 N. Queen St.
The Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III, national chief of field operations for the NAACP, will be the primary speaker. And if his appearance at a similar gathering last weekend in Alaska was any indication, the Rev. Rivers will speak highly of the potential of America’s young.
"It’s a great time to be young," he told an enthusiastic audience in Fairbanks, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. "Young people want to lead and have good leaders. They want to be inspired."
The Rev. Rivers credited President-elect Obama with recognizing those desires, the newspaper reported, and he said he was overwhelmed by emotion as he thought of the people who paved the way for the election of the nation’s first black president.
Some of those civil rights pioneers will be saluted during the Friday meeting by the pastor of Mount Zion AME, the Rev. Ellis Louden.
The meeting also will include an overview of the NAACP’s role in addressing matters such as community violence, hate crimes, discrimination in the workplace and racial concerns in schools, Mr. Wilson said. Anyone with a problem in such areas can seek assistance at the end of the session.
Working on individual complaints is one of the primary roles of the Central Delaware branch, Mr. Wilson said. Those matters often are handled quietly.
But Mr. Wilson predicts a higher profile for the NAACP in Delaware in the near future. Friday’s public meeting will be followed by a members-only gathering Saturday that is to include the filling of the organization’s vacant state presidency.
"You might not be hearing about us now, but you’ll hear about us right after the election" of a state president, Mr. Wilson said. "The NAACP in Delaware will be on the ground and running."
