In what appears to be a surprise to even the insiders of his organization, Ben Jealous has announced that he is going to resign as the president of the NAACP, effective at the end of this year. The announcement came as Jealous was able to claim that the group has become financially sound under his leadership.
“The NAACP has always been the largest civil rights organization in the streets, and today it is also the largest civil rights organization online, on mobile and at the ballot box too,” Jealous said in a statement issued by the organization. “I am proud to leave the Association financially sound, sustainable, focused, and more powerful than ever.”
Jealous took over the organization in 2008, the same year that President Barack Obama was elected. Since then, Jealous has worked closely with the Obama Administration, expanding the organization’s focus to include immigration and gay rights, two leading priorities of President Obama. The result was that Jealous and his colleagues had ready access to the president, which opened the door for the group to raise money to dig out of a gaping financial hole.
No successor to Jealous has been announced. But it is agreed that the group’s appointment of Jealous at the age of 35 gave a significant burst of energy to a group that had been criticized for growing old and out of touch.
In addition to gay rights and immigration, the NAACP also fought on voting rights, another priority of the Obama Administration. Jealous helped to lead protests against the execution of Troy Davis, and the not guilty verdict of George Zimmerman. Jealous was also instrumental in helping ex-felons obtain voting rights and was a member of the National Newspaper Publisher’s Association.
The group was criticized under Jealous’ tenure for working so closely with the Obama Administration that it was unable to effectively criticize it. Also, Jealous was asked to explain why the organization took money from Wells Fargo, a bank that has been sued for causing hundreds of thousands of African Americans to lose their homes via predatory lending.
Jealous hasn’t given much of an explanation for his resignation, other than saying that he wants to spend more time with his family.
