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US civil rights group head resigns after disagreements

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) president Bruce Gordon said he is leaving the civil rights organization after just 19 months, citing clashes with board members over management style and the organization's mission as the reasons.

"I believe that any organization that's going to be effective will only be effective if the board and the CEO [chief executive officer] are aligned, and I don't think we are aligned," Gordon said on Sunday.

"This compromises the ability of the board to be as effective as it can be," he said.

Julian Bond, chairman of the board of the NAACP, said Gordon tried to quit just six weeks after taking the job in August 2005, but Bond convinced him to stay.

"There were occasions where it seemed just not to be a perfect fit," Bond said. "But he had many, many great qualities, and he exhibited those qualities when he worked for us. I'm disappointed that it came to this."

Gordon said he will give up his duties before the end of the month.

Dennis Hayes, the group's general counsel, will serve as interim president, Bond said. Hayes filled the same role after Kweisi Mfume resigned the presidency in 2004.

Although the NAACP is an advocacy organization, Gordon said his vision was to focus more on finding practical solutions to black America's problems.

Gordon repeatedly made clear that he wanted the NAACP to do more social service work, said Rupert Richardson, a board member from Louisiana, but board members balked.

"I think he saw his job as remaking us to make us more effective, but his job was to do what the board and management wanted," Richardson said. "He was not a good fit for us, but he could have been."

Bond said: "Put simply, we fight racial discrimination and social service groups fight the effects of racial discrimination. Service is wonderful and praiseworthy and fabulous, but many, many organizations do it. Only a couple do justice work, and we're one of those few."

Bond has acknowledged that, with 64 members, the NAACP's board of directors is large and sometimes unwieldy. But he often says this allows a wide range of members' voices to be heard.

Gordon, 61, was a surprise pick for the NAACP's top post. When he took over, he had no track record in traditional civil rights circles. He had spent 35 years in the telecommunications industry and retired in 2003.

Critics said he would not be a good fit for the nearly 98-year-old organization.

However, he smoothed strained relations between the NAACP and the White House, meeting with US President George W. Bush three times in less than a year. He used his corporate ties to lend quick assistance to black New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina. And he hired a number of key national employees whose reputations inspired staff members.

Gordon's departure throws the NAACP into disarray. Founded in 1909 by an interracial group who battled segregation and lynching, the group helped win some of the nation's biggest civil rights victories.

Now, board members must find a new leader even as they prepare for centennial celebrations in 2009 that include a US$100 million fundraising goal, Bond said.
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