NAACP's "Crisis" Magazine Still Important

"The Crisis" is still published quarterly on paper, though it's also available on-line through Google Books. This venerable speaker for civil rights in America continues to play a vital role, and they do not shy away from taking on controversial topics. It's worth way more than its $4 newsstand price, and a membership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, despite its archaic name, is still a great bargain for anyone who wants progressive change in America. Contact them at http://www.naacp.org/, or 4805 Mt Hope Dr, Baltimore, MD 21215 or 410-580-5137.

The Fall issue carries strong articles on health care, Black history, and the damnable role of the right-wing majority on the current Supreme Court.  In "The Affordable Care Act Aims to Close Disparities" by Stacey Jullen, national health care finds strong defense. The particularly racist nature of the old system of American health care is laid open. Important anti-racist aspects of the new law are highlighted. That's worth knowing about.

"Lost Black History Revealed" by Lottie L. Joiner applauds the National Public Television's series "African Americans, Many Rivers to Cross." Among its many important observations is an alarm against growing class friction in America, even between African Americans and other African Americans. "We have a class divide within the race more pronounced than ever before historically," quotes the TV program's narrator, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

"Courting Disaster. Racial Resentment, Civil Rights and the Roberts Court," by Leland Ware is perhaps the most critical article in the Fall issue. It goes over the big setbacks in the "Shelby" and "Fisher" cases against voting rights and against affirmative action. He concludes, "Moving forward, we must choose our legal battles carefully, with an acute awareness of the predisposition of the Court's majority."

The Fall issue concludes with resolutions passed at the NAACP's recent convention. They include a commitment to non-violent struggle, a fight against police brutality, better treatment for juvenile offenders, economic opportunity, opposing anti-labor laws, increasing the minimum wage, and restoring voters' rights. It would be difficult to find an American institution, let alone one with the great credibility of the NAACP, with a more progressive agenda and a more determined dedication.

--Jim Lane