To the Editor:

I write this letter as a former member of the Northampton County Branch of the NAACP. I have been so proud of the history of advocacy of this organization.

In 1954, when it came to the education of African-American children, the NAACP was there. In 2009 and 2010, in one of the most contested actions of the Wake County School Board, NAACP state President, Reverend William Barber led the charge. Reverend Barber and the NAACP were in the forefront to ensure and protect the educational opportunities for African-American children.

For the last two years, the Halifax County Branch of the NAACP has led the fight for equal educational opportunities for all children there.

I ask you, Mr. Bennett Taylor and Northampton County NAACP, where are you on the issue of merging the high schools, wherein studies have shown will have a detrimental impact on African-American student achievement. Your silence conveys acceptance.

Education is the most important civil rights issue of the 21^st Century.  Without a quality, accessible education – children will not be able to compete in a global society for jobs and economic parity. Any student faced with a two hour bus ride does not have fair access to a quality education. Any parent who cannot afford gas money to support their children in their academic and extracurricular endeavors are denied a fundamental tenant of parental involvement under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Any community, who loses the community center for learning – schools – are soon after crippled in the running for economic growth and development.

Northampton County Branch where are you when it comes to the threat of disparate impact for the children, the community and the county? I discontinued my membership because this branch of the NAACP has failed to be the advocate that this organization was founded upon over 100 years ago.

Rev. Richard Webb

Gaston NC