<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0>NAACP chapter celebrates national group’s centennial<font color="#ff0000"> w/ Ernestine Carr and Allen Merriam Community Conversation interview</font>

Home

Related Photos

Discussion

October 30, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Fri Oct 30, 2009, 09:00 PM CDT

By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

When the word “colored” was used years ago, it most often came in conjunction with one of two words — “colored only,” identifying segregated drinking fountains and restrooms, or “no colored,” meaning restaurants, movie theaters and other places from which African-Americans were banned.

Today, the Joplin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will be celebrating a century of progress when it marks the 100th anniversary of the national civil rights organization.

The title used at the organization’s founding is still part of the name, marking both accomplishment and inclusion, members said.

Ernestine Carr, a longtime member of the Joplin NAACP, said that for her, the organization’s name “is a way to remember where we were and how far we’ve come.

“It’s a reminder. It gives us a look back as we look forward,” she said. “Also, it (NAACP) is open to people of all colors and we want equality for everyone.”

The group’s advocacy efforts aren’t limited to African-Americans, said Jim West, another member.

“We get complaints about discrimination from people of other races and we investigate and refer them for help,” he said.

The 100-year anniversary of the national group will be celebrated at a centennial dinner set for 6 p.m. today at the Continental Banquet Center, 2802 N. Range Line.

The national organization was formed in 1909 and the Joplin chapter was organized in 1943. Carr said she has been a member of the group for years, and was able to become more active in recent years, after she retired from work as a surgical technician.

She said times have changed, since she encountered prejudice in the workplace, and earlier when she was growing up in Joplin.

She said she remembers Joplin had four downtown theaters and African-Americans were allowed into only one — the D-Ray — and then required to sit in the balcony. When Carr was younger, she said black children could walk down the sidewalk and if they encountered a white youngster, might be shoved off the walkway, or called names.

“That’s the young people, but of course, that’s the way they were taught,” she said.

Carr attended segregated Lincoln High School and was happy when civil rights legislation brought integrated schools to Joplin.

“Some people wanted to stay at Lincoln, but I wanted my kids to have an equal education,” she said.

Allen Merriam, a retired professor at Missouri Southern State University, is one of several longtime Caucasian members of the group.

“The chapter has always been interracial and inter-generational,” he said.

West said more young people are getting involved in the organization, which also has a number of businesses as supporting members.

“I think a lot of people don’t know that, but we have businesses that understand the need for diversity and want to be involved,” he said.

Merriam said he attended a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he was a college student in New Jersey, participated in pickets for integrated services there, then joined the integrated Peace Corps when he graduated.

His efforts with the local chapter included programs and a postage stamp to honor Joplin native Langston Hughes in 2002.

Despite their different perspectives, Carr and Merriam shared similar, joyful reactions to the election of Barack Obama as president.

Carr’s response was closer to joyful incredulity:

“I was thinking I’d never live to see the day; I never expected it to happen in my lifetime. I was very proud that night,” she said.

Today’s program will include readings of poetry by Langston Hughes, historical vignettes and special music by vocalist Ernestine Dillard.

Tickets are $20 at the door and the public is invited.

Ernestine Dillard

A native of Memphis, Ernestine Dillard gained national attention after she sang “God Bless America” before a crowd of more than 10,000 mourners at the memorial service for victims of the 1994 Oklahoma City bombing. She has performed at the American Cathedral in Paris, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Philadelphia’s “Let Freedom Ring” celebration.