Condemning the Reinforcement of Negative Stereotypes

WHEREAS, for 94 years the NAACP has been fighting for civil rights and a civil society; and

WHEREAS, racial and ethnic groups in this country suffer from insulting and inflammatory name-calling based upon negative stereotypes; and

WHEREAS, this insulting and inflammatory name-calling and racial profiling accentuates the differences among Americans and divides us along racial and/or ethnic lines leading to social conflict and unrest; and

WHEREAS, some politicians, government officials and news media have participated in highly publicized incidents of insulting and inflammatory name-calling and racial profiling of African Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans and others while discussing war and other pre-emptive attacks on sovereign nations; and

WHEREAS, this insulting and inflammatory name-calling cannot be dismissed as merely "war time talk" or patriotic statements when it actually reinforces negative stereotypes; and

WHEREAS, the residual psychological and emotional damage inflicted is more difficult to repair than a bombed bridge or an airport runway.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP urge all it units to stress positive positions and programs for a more civil society for all, regardless of racial or ethnic background; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP urge politicians, government officials and the news media to stop promoting social conflict and unrest by racial profiling through the use of insulting and inflammatory name-calling which reinforces negative stereotypes of racial and ethnic groups