The Syracuse University chapter of the NAACP has high hopes and a goal-oriented attitude for this academic year after its return to campus just a few years ago.

Historically, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has aimed to achieve equal rights for all through protests, boycotting, funding and other means of communicating their message of unity to the general public. The ultimate, long-term goal of the SU chapter is to completely combat segregation on campus, said Danielle Reed, the organization’s event and programming chair member and a junior Spanish and African American studies double major.

This year also marks the third year since the SU chapter of the NAACP has returned to campus after it had been disaffiliated for several years due to financial reasons. Though the club has been back on campus for a few years, they hope to be more active than in the past. Members of this year’s executive board hope that involvement this year is stronger than ever due to tensions around the country, and Reed added that people not of color should participate as well.

To increase involvement, the group has plans to host several forums this upcoming semester, Reed said.

The group intends to hold forums this semester that range from topics including the murder of Mike Brown and the protests surrounding his death to the Trayvon Martin case and other incidents that caused a wave of tension across the country, said club vice president Olivia Johnson, a senior newspaper and online journalism major and contributing writer for The Daily Orange.

Events such as the recent incident regarding an SU women’s soccer player that used racial slurs in a video that was released on social media are examples that demonstrate the need for organizations such as the NAACP on campus, Johnson said.

Johnson stressed that activism was a main goal of the club this year, and she hopes to reach out to clubs to help the NAACP, putting emphasis on the fact that the organization advocates for people of all colors, not just African Americans. A common theme on the agenda for the year is the topic of unity on campus. Along with restoring the NAACP involvement on campus, another objective of the club is to become more unified with other SU organizations for students of color and reflect the model of unity that drove efforts back when these organizations were founded many years ago, Reed said.

The group also wants to host or cosponsor an event this fall in conjunction with the Syracuse Police Department and SU’s Department of Public Safety that examines police brutality in light of recent events pertaining to that topic and people of color in America, Reed said.

Another short term goal of the organization on campus is to hold a forum inspired by the hashtag “Black Lives Matter” on Twitter, and it will show another side of the Ferguson incident, mainly focusing on valuing each other as human beings as well as brothers and sisters, Reed said.

The club is also very supportive of the work done by other organizations and departments on campus that share the same dedication to delivering the message of equality that they do, she said. They are active in attending events held by groups such as the African American Studies department of the university.

The organization as a whole has always advocated for all races and backgrounds, and that is a tradition that the SU chapter of the NAACP wants to continue here on campus, Reed said.

Published on September 8, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Erin: eemcdona@syr.edu