Jealous New NAACP President

May 17, 2008

Comments

“The NAACP board of directors has chosen Ben Jealous, a 35-year-old former news executive and lifelong activist, as the organization’s next president and the youngest in its 99-year history,” the AP reports.

I’m not familiar with Jealous’ work and have no opinion as to whether he’ll make a good NAACP leader. And I’m not even going to poke fun at his name.

One wonders, however, at what age the descriptor “lifelong” becomes meaningful? Perhaps I’m just getting old but it strikes me that it comes at some point well after 35.

6 responses to “Jealous New NAACP President”

Bithead

May 17, 2008 at 1:14 pm

Let’s see, here.
He’s a past president of the Rosenberg foundation, a former director of Director of the US Domestic Human Rights Program of Amnesty International, a former program director for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, a former managing editor of a newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi, and has been called a ‘community organizer in Mississippi and New York. Born in Monterey County, California, and a Columbia grad, as well as a holder of a masters at Oxford where he was a Rhodes scholar.

Here’s his “linkedin” profile, which lists quite a bit including some recent opeds.

Google is my friend.
The Florida Masochist

May 17, 2008 at 2:08 pm

Bithead,

Good work. Now can you please teach Mark Steyn how to use google. Thanks to the conservative columnist I learned Florida succeeded from the Union, and that New Haven, Connecticut is part of Great Britain. Mark blamed the later on his being tired after a long flight.

Bill
Bithead

May 17, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Thanks to the conservative columnist I learned Florida succeeded from the Union,

His context may have been different, but in fact, they did. January 9th or 10th of 1861.

New Haven, Connecticut is part of Great Britain

Not sure what the context is, but it sounds, just off the top of my head like he’s making some offhanded reference the time around 1640 where the Connecticut Colony and the New Haven Colony were separate jurisdictions, each with its own government and court system. I’d have to know more about the statement.
charles austin

May 17, 2008 at 11:52 pm

So, he didn’t stop being an activist while he was a news executive. What a surprise.
Bithead

May 18, 2008 at 12:07 am

Well thank you, Charles… I was beginning to wonder if anyone would pick up on my rather thinly veiled point.
charles austin

May 18, 2008 at 8:53 pm

Can’t make us work to hard on these. 🙂