Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Miami Herald - June 13, 2005
Darran Simon, dsimon@herald.com
During car trips to NAACP meetings last year, Arielle Banks would tell her younger twin brothers that the NAACP needs them, even if they were only 8 years old.
Arielle, 16, of Miramar, joined the Fort Lauderdale NAACP youth council two years ago. Her brothers, Amon-Ra and Amir, now 9, took her advice and joined last year.
The nation's oldest civil rights group is trying to boost membership with young, energetic members at a time when blacks still grapple with disparities in education, healthcare, employment and other issues. With its membership aging, leaders say younger blacks are in a prime position to fight social injustices because of the educational opportunities they have been given in the past three decades since the civil rights movement began.
Debbie Origho, 19, joined the Fort Lauderdale youth council two years ago as a Dillard High School student.
Young adults didn't experience the struggles of their parents' generation, but they still have known covert racism, she said.
"We are trying to continue their fight," Origho said.
Youth council members have encouraged siblings, parents and friends to join. They have recruited members in the school lunchroom, church sanctuary and a local amusement park.
Among its activities, the youth council organizes voter registration drives, workshops on FCAT test-taking skills, economics and HIV and AIDS prevention.
It also plans to launch a gun-violence awareness campaign, said Gwen Watson, the Fort Lauderdale NAACP youth council's advisor.
Arielle's brother, Amon-Ra, said joining the group was a chance to meet new people. "I wanted to learn more about my history," Amon-Ra said.
Arielle, a student-athlete at Pembroke Pines Charter High School, said she joined because she has always been active in her community.
"I like to volunteer and give back to the community," said Arielle, the council's membership chair and a vice president.
The Fort Lauderdale council is one of 400 youth councils and college chapters nationwide. Some 67,000 young people are in the NAACP.
Origho, a Howard University broadcast journalism student, volunteers as a junior co-advisor on summer break.
"It felt like I was just working and not contributing to my community like I did in high school," she said.
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