The Missouri chapter of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) has issued a “travel advisory” for members traveling through Missouri. “The advisory means each [black] individuals should pay special attention while in the state of Missouri and certainly if contemplating spending time in Missouri.” cnn.com reports that . . .
The advisory was issued after Senate Bill 43 — which makes it more difficult for employees to prove their protected class, like race or gender, directly led to unlawful discrimination — passed through the Missouri Legislature in June. Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens signed it into law soon after. Greitens and other supporters of the bill have said it puts Missouri’s standards for lawsuits in line with other states.
To justify the race-baiting PR stunt warning, the NAACP advisory also lists racially motivated crimes in the Show-Me State and racial bias [allegedly] revealed by MO’s traffic stop stats. And then there’s history!
Race, gender and color based crimes have a long history in Missouri. Missouri, home of Lloyd Gaines, Dredd Scott and the dubious distinction of the Missouri Compromise and one of the last states to loose (sic) its slaveholding past, may not be safe.
So what does the NAACP recommend for people of color travelling through Missouri? “They should tell their relatives if they have to travel through the state, they need to be aware,” Missouri NAACP Chapter Conference President Rod Chapel Jr. told CNN. “They should have bail money, you never know.”
Clearly that advice is designed for people of color falsely arrested by the police (presumably due to racial bias). But what of racially motivated assaults? Shouldn’t the NAACP advise its members to tool-up to defend their lives and the lives of their loved ones?
Maybe so — but recommending armed self-defense would go against the national organization’s stance on gun control:
The NAACP has advocated for a number of sane, sensible gun laws which will do a lot to eliminate the damage caused by gun violence. Specifically, we are calling for a permanent, nation-wide ban on the sale, transfer, importation, and manufacturing of all high-powered military style semi automatic assault rifles and pistols (assault weapons) and the ammunition clips; a federal law requiring universal background checks for all gun purchases; and that the federal government do more to require states and federal agencies to submit information about disqualified individuals, including mentally ill and other dangerous people for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
We have opposed and continue to work against legislation which would restrict states’ ability to control who may and may not carry a concealed weapon within their borders, undermine the ability of police to verify the validity of gun permits, and allow gun traffickers to more easily bring illegal guns into their respective states.
So when it comes to protecting against racial attacks by the state or individual racists, the NAACP recommends bail not bullets. Good luck with that.