Benjamin Jealous Leaving NAACP

Benjamin Jealous, the president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is leaving his job at the end of 2013. 

Jealous said he wants to be a University professor and spend more time with his family. He stated, “The NAACP has always been the largest civil rights organization in the streets, and today it is also the largest civil rights organization online, on mobile, and at the ballot box too. I am proud to leave the association financially sound, sustainable, focused, and more powerful than ever.”

Jealous added he plans to organize a PAC to raise money to elect diverse political candidates. Presumably, that means Democrats. Jealous once said of Senator Tim Scott, one of only two current black U.S. senators and a Republican, “We have Republicans who believe in civil rights — unfortunately he is not one of them.”

Jealous has claimed he joined with others in 2008 to raise $10 million for Barack Obama.

During his five-year tenure at the NAACP, the organization’s donors skyrocketed from 16,ooo to over 132,000, according to the group. The NAACP also endorsed same-sex marriage in May 2012. Jealous told AP that broader coalitions were necessary for future battles, saying, “Last century we needed lawyers; this century we need big, broad coalitions. When extremists decide to attack all our communities, they must hope that there will be infighting. But we have stood all for one and one for all. That is how we will win.”

NAACP Chairman Roslyn Brock said of Jealous, “Under his leadership, the NAACP has built a highly competent staff that will carry our mission forward and meet the civil rights challenges of the 21st century.

“Our board, staff, and volunteer leaders throughout the country deeply appreciate his sacrifice and will continue to implement our game-changing goals for the next half century.”