Former NAACP president Ben Jealous speaks at Penn

For Ben Jealous, “there’s no worse feeling than waking up one day and realizing things have gotten worse.”

Jealous, the former president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, spoke to over 80 members of the Penn community at “The Unfulfilled Dream: A New Frontier of Civil Rights,” an event held by Penn UMOJA and Penn NAACP this past Friday.

Now part of a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley focused on socially conscious investing, Jealous discussed current issues surrounding civil rights, equality and national policy with Penn’s Presidential Professor and professor of Africana studies Heather Williams. Jealous characterized two forms of power in the United States: organized money and organized people. The only way to defeat organized money, he stressed, is through organized people.

“It brought this reality to the forefront and it’s a very important issue to face, especially with the upcoming elections this November in Philadelphia," College sophomore and UMOJA Chair Ray Clark said. "It’s something that will impact us all.”

In wake of the recent shootings of unarmed black men such as Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, Jealous also stressed the importance of police departments creating policies to reinforce personality tests. He argued the coincidence of the astonishing number of school bullies becoming police officers should not be overlooked.

Jealous emphasized the importance of students learning to build power through organized people to get what they want.

To clarify his point, Jealous — the youngest ever president of the NAACP — described his experiences of learning to organize rallies and communicate effectively to both NAACP supporters and those with different views.

His advice to students as young individuals reflects what he learned as a social activist: “When things are at their bleakest, get ready to govern.”

While organizing a rally in Mississippi, Jealous recalled being confronted by an ominous figure saying, "Are you the boys I've been seeing on TV?" As Jealous and his friends braced themselves for the man to pull out a gun, he instead shook their hands and offered to help in any way possible. Jealous admitted the biggest mistake he made was thinking he knew who his friends were and weren’t, and the only way to respond was to give everyone a chance to be a friend.

College senior Amma Ntoso said she “gained insight to becoming more active by learning to give everyone a chance.”

For Penn NAACP President and College senior Keishawn Johnson, his main takeaway was “people having a lot of action and movements but not always having organization, and there is a need for organized people to combat organized money. I hope it’s something that resonates with the audience and something we can speak to action here on campus.” 

Related: Ben Jealous talks NAACP's "ongoing fight for justice"

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