After a controversial first half of the year for the St. Louis County chapter of the NAACP, the organization’s new president is wrapping up 2019 focused on the future.
John Bowman first took the helm as interim president after the removal of John Gaskin III from his role as president over his support of Title IX and his paid consulting work for the controversial Better Together plan. Bowman was named president in November. He shared his vision with STL County News.
You are entering your role as president at a time when the NAACP is facing major challenges, including leadership concerns. What is your vision for rebuilding trust? Trust begins with leadership. My primary focus for the organization is maintaining an attitude of transparency coupled with sincerity and honesty. True leadership comes with open communication and dialogue about the issues most important to our members.
In the years post-Ferguson, many local organizations have stepped forward to fight racial inequality. Why is the NAACP still relevant for our region? Since 1909, our organization has been at the forefront of political change, community action and civil rights-based initiatives. The NAACP is still a necessary vehicle for social justice as seen in our communities worldwide. Focusing in on the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, it is more important than ever to create collaboration and unity between both NAACP St. Louis County and St. Louis City. In order to do that, we must remain relevant. We intend to stay on top of community challenges, such as over-policing and spotlight areas needing change and reform, such as our local criminal justice system. Creating organizational partnerships and promoting collaboration between myself and President Adolphus Pruitt of NAACP St. Louis City will bring awareness and action to the St. Louis metropolitan area.
What is the biggest challenge you face as an organization? Challenges are not foreign to organizations filled with changemakers; it’s to be expected. However, increasing our membership is the overarching area of growth for us. We need your support. We need more young people to join. The organization thrives with membership support. We always need community partners and youthful energy.
You recently announced a new program, ACT-SO, known as the “Olympics of the Mind.” Why is this program important? ACT-SO is a national NAACP program that we are proud to support here, locally. Bringing awareness to so many young people who are thinkers and changemakers is very important to our organization. We are excited to have a youth program with chairs and co-chairs making a difference in our community every day. The importance of the ACT-SO program is seen by our results. We reach our young people, educate, and set them up for the future through recognition, community service and scholarships.
Why is the 2020 census important for your work at the NAACP? We held a Census 2020 informational event at St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley to highlight the importance of the count and why we need to participate. It’s important to understand that every person should be counted. Our representative from the Census Bureau discussed the many challenges, identified HTC (hard-to-count) areas, and answered questions from the participants. Simply put, those numbers decide where the U.S. Government spends its money. If our communities aren’t counted, there is no way to accurately disperse the funds we need. The NAACP St. Louis County will help get the word out and provide connections to information and jobs through the Census Bureau.
For more information, visit naacpstlouiscounty.org/census2020.