Project 21 reacts to Julian Bond's latest outburst

Black Conservatives Slam Extremist Comments from
NAACP Leader
Chairman Julian Bond's Comments Demean the Reputation
of the Venerable Civil Rights Group

For Release: February 3, 2006
Contact David Almasi at: (202) 543-4110x11
or Project21@nationalcenter.org

Members of the black leadership network Project 21 are
appalled by comments NAACP chairman Julian Bond reportedly
made during a recent speech in North Carolina. Members say
the radical nature of Bond's comments are detrimental to the
civil rights group's reputation and its ability to function within
the non-partisan confines of its non-profit status.

As reported by WorldNetDaily, Bond's comments came during
a February 1 speech at Fayetteville State University in
Fayetteville, North Carolina. Bond is said to have called Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice and predecessor Colin Powell "tokens."

He also compared the Bush Administration's judicial nominees to
the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan and said "The
Republican Party would have the American flag and the [Nazi]
swastika flying side by side."

"If Julian Bond's comments are indicative of the NAACP, the
group has truly lost its way. I believe the NAACP has positioned
itself on the far left of the political spectrum, and Mr. Bond's
comments give me no reason to think otherwise," said Project
21 member Jimmie Hollis.

"What is most offensive to me is that Julian Bond denigrated
Secretary Rice and Colin Powell as tokens at the beginning of
Black History Month. President Bush's appointments are not
based on skin color, but the content of peoples' character. This
was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream. The fact that Rice and
Powell became the face of U.S. foreign policy during President
Bush's first term, as well as Rod Paige at the Department of
Education and Alphonso Jackson at Housing and Urban
Development, says a lot," said Project 21 member Geoffrey
Moore. "And yet NAACP leaders still seem to wonder why
President Bush refuses to address their annual conference."

"Julian Bond's tirades serve only to further reduce the once-
great standing of the NAACP in our society," added Project 21
member Mychal Massie. "Bond's rank partisanship must call
into question the legitimacy of the NAACP's political neutrality
and its charitable tax status."

In October of 2005, the IRS reportedly informed NAACP
leaders that anti-Bush comments made by Bond at the group's
2005 annual conference may have constituted political activity
that violates the group's non-profit status. Bond's February 1
speech was part of the Fayetteville State University's
Distinguished Speaker Series.

Announcements and media coverage of the speech described
Bond as the chairman of the NAACP and did not indicate he was
speaking as a private citizen.

"As Julian Bond wallows in the sunset of 1960s victimization,
other blacks are moving onward and upward," said Project 21
member Deneen Moore. "People of all colors and creeds should
stand up to those who continue to incite negative racial bigotry
and name-calling as a vehicle to air their agenda."

Project 21, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, has been a
leading voice in the black community since 1992. For more
information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11, email
Project21@nationalcenter.org or visit Project 21's website at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html

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