The Washington Post Features NAACP’s Online Activism

In a story in The Washington Post this week, our friends at the NAACP were spotlighted for their innovative use of new media to mobilize supporters of the august 101-year-old institution.

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous told the Post's Krissah Thompson: "We have placed our new media strategy at the nexus of our work on Capitol Hill and in the field."

Thompson writes:

The nation's oldest civil rights groups have begun to recognize the shift. The NAACP revamped its Web site last year and has begun a blog. Its Facebook page, which had only a couple thousand supporters two years ago, has more than 40,000, and its online advocacy list has grown to 400,000 members. It also sends out periodic text messages. ... The NAACP, which turned 101 this year and has been working to remain relevant, launched an Internet campaign this year encouraging its members to rally behind Jamie and Gladys Scott, two sisters who have been imprisoned in Mississippi for 16 years. They were given double life sentences in 1993 for an armed robbery, which their supporters contend is extraordinary punishment for the crime. NAACP members have received e-mails asking them to sign a petition. The group's leaders also are doing old-school activism, reaching out to the governor's office to request a pardon for the Scotts.

We're proud to work with the NAACP on its digital program, and we congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.

Read the full Washington Post story here.

UPDATE (12/30/10 8:30 a.m.): Last night, Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi suspended the sentences of the Scott sisters following intense pressure from the NAACP and its online members. NAACP President Ben Jealous said in an email to supporters:

The moment I landed in Jackson, Mississippi, Governor Barbour called to tell me about the suspension. And as I prepare to meet with him tomorrow, along with Derrick Johnson, President of the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP, I want to be clear about one thing: This vindication is because of you, because you raised your voice and kept the faith.... I am humbled by how far your support has taken the Scott sisters on the road to justice and freedom. And with every step forward, we will secure a brighter future for their children, our children and our children's children.

We're proud to congratulate the NAACP on this crucial civil-rights victory, and to join them in welcoming the Scott sisters home at last. 

For more information about Blue State Digital's strategy & technology services, click here.