Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, encouraged blacks to acknowledge that they are people who understand the pain of slavery and forced migration, in his speech for Black History Month on Thursday.
“Let [our future generations] understand how you and those who came before you confront struggles of your day, so they know how to confront the struggles of their day,” Jealous said. “The tactics may change, but the need for courage … never changes.”
Jealous also addressed the twisted truth of stereotypes and poverty that Americans have been brought up to believe about blacks.
“When I say crack, people think black,” Jealous said. “But here’s the crazy part … 15 percent of people using crack are black, 65 percent are white, 5 percent of those busted for using crack are white.”
During the open question portion of the presentation, students asked for advice on how to stay in school and find jobs while the cost of education continues to rise.
Jealous challenged the audience to find jobs that meet one’s skills. He said there are still jobs in this country and there is education to be found in one’s local community college, so students will have to take risks to get their career and education started.
He reminded students that their family members took “greater risks for less opportunity,” in harsher conditions.
“I feel that this event was pertinent for CSULB students because we needed a speaker like this from the NAACP headquarters,” said Trevon Williams, member of the NAACP College Chapter. “It’s not often that we can get a speaker of such magnitude here on the campus to share what’s going on with the country.”
In continuation of Black History Month, the 13th annual Martin Luther King Jr. event will be held in the University Student Union on Feb. 9.
“Black History Month is an event that affects all people, not just black Americans,” Vice President of the NAACP College Chapter Stephen Crawford said. “This is an event that has brought us where we are today.”
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