photo from eecue via Flickr

The news is spreading that NAACP President Bruce Gordon has stepped down. He held his position for only 19 months and cited “misalignment with the board” as his reason. Basically, the NAACP board has a lot more say in how the organization is run than the former corporate executive is used to.

In fact, a recent study of corporate board effectiveness at USC found that the average size of US corporate boards is 10.4 members. It must have come as quite a shock for Gordon, who’s spent most of his professional life in the telecom industry, to work with the NAACP’s 64 member board.

An excerpt from the AP story:

“I don’t view this as I’m right and they’re wrong. I view this as I see things one way and they see things a different way,” he said. “That misalignment between the CEO and the board is unhealthy.”

Asked about his plans after leaving the NAACP, Gordon said: “I’m going to catch my breath.”

“What I’ve clearly learned in my tenure here is that all is not well in black America, that’s for sure,” he said. “I believe I have a lot to offer. I’ve got to find a way to be engaged that optimizes what it is I bring to the table. My intention is not to disengage, but to find a different way.”

How relevant do you think the NAACP (I almost wrote NCAA, dang) is today? Afro-Netizen poses an interesting question

“How many NAACP directors does it take to build a better typewriter?”

The answer, of course, is immaterial because the question itself is flawed. But then again if the organization already knew this, the NAACP wouldn’t have a membership one-tenth the size of BlackPlanet.com.

Indeed. I’ve got to be honest. I’m one of those from the yoot generation, and my only frame of reference for the NAACP is historical. I don’t consider the organization when planning political action or even look to it for a black perspective. None of my peers ever mentions the group. What does the NAACP do nowadays?

JP Smith over at black…MYstory says:

Well, methinks it’s time for the NAACP to re-examine its mission to see if it’s really meeting the needs of the population it claims to serve.

Thoughts?

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