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Sun, 05.18.2008

NAACP Selects Ben Jealous As Its President

*On this date in 2008, The NAACP selected Benjamin Todd Jealous as its president.

The Oxford University-educated activist was the youngest president to lead the nation's oldest Civil Rights organization.  Jealous, 35, was chosen by the group's 64-member board after a yearlong search and was introduced at the group's national headquarters in Baltimore.

He started his new job on Sept. 1 of that year.  In selecting Jealous, the NAACP broke with its tradition of picking politicians and ministers to lead, as it did three years ago with its selection of telecommunications executive Bruce Gordon. Jealous was the president of the Rosenberg Foundation in San Francisco, which advocates for immigrants and working-class families.

Jealous also is a former news executive, having served as executive director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which encompasses about 200 black newspapers, and as managing editor of the Jackson Advocate, a black newspaper in Mississippi.

(Then) NAACP Chairman Julian Bond said, "He is a perfect match;we look forward to a great future under his leadership."

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