Donald Sterling — quickly becoming a radioactive pariah
[National]
The Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP was scheduled to honor Donald Sterling the Los Angeles Clippers owner with a second NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award May 15. However that’s now been withdrawn and the NAACP issued the following statement caling for the 2009 honor to also be withdrawn.
The National NAACP released the following statement in response to the remarks attributed to Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
“Let me make it clear, the NAACP will not be honoring Mr. Sterling at the upcoming Los Angeles branch event and we have strongly urged our Los Angeles unit to take the necessary steps to rescind the previous award they bestowed on him,” said Lorraine C. Miller, NAACP Interim President and CEO.
“The remarks attributed to Mr. Sterling are outrageous and remind us that racism is alive and well at every socioeconomic level. With the election of President Obama, many were sold the idea that the United States would be instantly transformed into a post racial society and racism would be eviscerated. People who bought that idea were sold wolf tickets. As a nation, we must ask ourselves if we are living up to the obligations of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Constitutional that require equality in opportunity for all people regardless of the color of their skin. If we cannot answer in the affirmative, we must redouble our efforts to ensure this goal is reached. If the adage that silence means acceptance, the worst thing our country can do in the face of bigotry is remain quiet. We must stand up, speak out and call attention to a real problem.”
“The current political climate in our nation has set the stage for the blatant bigotry we are seeing from the likes of public figures like Donald Sterling, Ted Nugent, Cliven Bundy and Phil Robertson,” said Roslyn M. Brock, NAACP Chairman of the Board of Directors.
“As Justice Sotomayer acknowledged in her dissent in Schuette v. BAMN, racism cannot be wished away and must be confronted. The NAACP will remain vigilant in pointing out and fighting against racism in all its forms to ensure it does not infect the next generation of Americans.”
