Pr. George's Group Seeks New NAACP Chapter

A group of Prince George's activists, frustrated with what they call the complacency of the local NAACP, said they plan to press on with their work to start a second chapter in the county.

The state NAACP recently rejected the group's application for a charter, but statewide organization President Gerald Stansbury said it is open to reconsidering the issue.

The effort to start a new NAACP chapter illustrates a burgeoning occurrence in the county, one in which newer activists are revolting against what they characterize as old-school ideas and methodologies.

The activists, who call themselves the Greater Beltway Coalition, are seeking an organization that would be more focused on elevating the county's image and addressing such citizen concerns as education and economic empowerment.

"You'd think we'd have the most vocal and active NAACP in all the nation," said Sandy Pruitt, a Mitchellville resident and leader of the effort to launch a new chapter. "Instead, we have no voice. Right now, we feel there is a void . . . and we think this organization will address that void."

Members of the county's existing chapter, including President June White Dillard, oppose a new branch.

"There is absolutely nothing stopping anyone from joining or being active or serving on a committee," Dillard said. "I also want to dispel this perception that everybody in this organization is a doddering old person on a cane. It is wrong."

Pruitt started the effort in the fall after the national NAACP encouraged chapters nationwide to go to Jena, La., where six black teenagers were being prosecuted for beating a white schoolmate following several racial incidents.

Although many branches made the trip, the one in Prince George's -- the most prosperous majority-black jurisdiction in the country -- did not, Pruitt said. "We looked to the leadership to spearhead the effort," she said. "We didn't get that from our current branch, and I realized that we needed to do something."

After raising money to travel to Jena, Pruitt and friends set about planning a new chapter.

"To a large extent, most people applaud what the county is doing that is positive," said D. Michael Lyles, one of those pushing for a second chapter. "But there is always the complaint from some who say what is happening is not enough."

In its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, the Prince George's NAACP was highly active, particularly in the fight for