Published Monday, Feb. 9, 1998

`Need still exists for local NAACP chapter`

Black
History
Month

The objectives of the NAACP in Mercer County have changed little in its 80 years, its members say.

``I look at the climate of the community and ask if we are needed here,'' said Charlotte Pegues, the first vice president of the Mercer County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

``We had a president that used to say, `We are in the businesses to go out of business,' '' she said. ``The climate hasn't changed. Discrimination does exist and it's subtle.''

As the group prepares to enter the 21st century, some say that talk about the clock turning back has become a reality.

``Everything we gained in the '60s, they started to take away in the '70s, '80s and '90s,'' said Donna Lee. ``It was a backlash.''

Branch President Keith T. Smith said the group was successful in stopping legal discrimination in the '60s.

``But today it's more subtle ... it's still there,'' he said.

Through Smith's presidency he has been working on a campaign of economic reciprocity. The campaign is fighting for an equal share, Smith has said in the past, including a chance at jobs and other ways to benefit from the businesses the African-American community patronizes.

And racial conflicts occur throughout the United States, including Mercer County, members say.

``Everything that is going on at the national level is happening here in our community,'' Mrs. Pegues said.

The group has complaint forms to be filed by those who would like its assistance.

``We just don't run in,'' Mrs. Lee said. ``We are requested and we are often crisis-oriented. When someone needs help, we are there.''

And through the years of activism, the group looks at its past and sees its future.

``We've made an imprint in the (Shenango) valley,'' Mrs. Austin said. ``And we will continue to do so.''

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Updated Feb. 9, 1998
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MERCER COUNTY

Need still exists for local NAACP chapter

`Need still exists for local NAACP chapter`