DETROIT — The civil rights movement for Arab Americans is still a work in progress considering the tremendous new wave of challenges it has faced in the last ten-plus years, but activists and leaders have a blueprint to follow for getting things done in Detroit and across the nation in the NAACP.

NAACP Executive Director Donnell White (left) began with the organization ten years ago and has worked his way up from the grassroots level. Now, he’s hoping to empower more youths and young adults to join the fight for justice. Photos courtesy of NAACP Detroit

The preeminent American civil rights organization’s Detroit branch is one of the country’s strongest, and in October 2011, it welcomed a new leader, 35-year-old Donnell White, who was officially appointed as Executive Director seven months after he was given the interim position following former director Heaster Wheeler’s appointment as Assistant County Executive for Wayne County. 

White and the rest of the NAACP branch are busy preparing for the largest sit-down dinner of its kind in the world as the Detroit branch celebrates 100 years of serving the African and other communities in the ongoing fight for civil rights. The keynote speaker for the event, the ’57th Annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner,’ with the theme of ‘Celebrating a Century,’ will be U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African American to hold the position. The event is being held at the Cobo Conference Center on May 6  5 p.m. 

“The dinner is the crown jewel of our celebration, we’ll be celebrating a century at the dinner and there will be more events throughout the year, it’s kind of like having the Super Bowl before the playoffs,” White said. A six-day cruise is also being planned as well as an event at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History downtown and an inaugural Kwanzaa Ball at the end of the year. 

In addition to a busy year of planning for the centennial celebration, the NAACP continues to tackle challenges of civil rights and discrimination that have unfortunately remained in recent years. 

White, a charismatic leader who relates well to the youth and young adults he has helped to recruit to work with the organization, said that the Detroit NAACP takes on about 3,000 incidents of discrimination annually.

“The majority of them are employment-related or revolve around conflicts with law enforcement, that being said, I don’t think a lot has changed even after the dawn of our first minority president,” he said. 

“Maybe things will change but unfortunately hate crimes have not shown promising numbers to reflect on so we are just as diligent now as we’ve ever been.” 

White came in highly recommended from current Detroit NAACP President Wendell Anthony, who is also now a board member with the new Arab American Civil Rights League organization. 

ACRL founder and attorney Nabih Ayad is among those who will be honored at the May 6 dinner with the ‘Great Expectations Award,’ making him quite possibly the first Arab American honored at the event according to White.

“Mr. White reflects the future of the NAACP,” Anthony said in October. “His ability to reach out in particular, into the demographics of young men and women ages 21 through 40 is most significant for our branch.  We need to increase the participation of these young adults who have been the recipients of the work of the NAACP but for some reason have not managed to step up to the call of the NAACP. Mr. White will certainly be a leader in the civil rights community as he continues to move our organization in its daily operation in the cause of freedom, justice and equality.” 

White, a graduate of Michigan State University, has been with the organization for 10 years and began as a volunteer. He worked his way up to an administrative assistant to a youth director before becoming the executive deputy director for the previous four and a half years. 

He’s worked as an adviser to the  Youth Council Advisers, ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural Technological Scientific Olympics), organized marches and national demonstrations as well as represented the branch across the country at various forums, and worked under both Anthony and Michigan State Conference President of the NAACP Yvonne White. 

White said that while discrimination case have remained all too common, challenges are much more varied in the current day and age. 

“We don’t have quite the same issues now, the fight is not as pervasive and in your face as it once was,” he said. “The fight is being taken from the street to the suite, now it’s more cloaked in public policy and regulations that separate us rather than unite us.” 

White is helping the organization to alter its strategy on the fly in order reflect that. 

“Before it was about direct action and sit-ins, now it’s more about Facebook and Twitter, recruiting the young people, things like that…It changes with the times and we’re focusing on understanding and embracing that.” 

He’s also working to make the NAACP more visible by “taking the show on the road” to community events, churches, and other organizations. 

The Detroit NAACP has also recently worked with the ACRL, a partnership White says “has a lot of promise.” White said that he and Anthony have worked with the ADC-MI, ACCESS, and other organizations as well. 

“I think we have a lot of the same challenges in our communities (African and Arab Americans), we need to work more on what unites us rather than what divides us,” he said.

“We can work in collaboration to be a bridge together in terms of how we can support each other strategically,” he said. 

ACRL founder and attorney Nabih Ayad is among those who will be honored at the May 6 dinner with the ‘Great Expectations Award,’ making him quite possibly the first Arab American honored at the event according to White. 

He also said that there is a need for “holistic conversations” between members of both communities particularly following shootings in the city committed by either customers and/or workers. 

From a personal standpoint, White has had other challenges of his own to meet since last year. 

“Coming from my previous job, it wasn’t a culture shock or a tremendous learning curve with my new position because of the relationships I’ve forged,” he said. “The biggest challenge if you will was grabbing hold of the responsibility as the incoming, as the new executive director, and also to continually raise funds and to diversify our revenue stream in today’s economic climate of diminishing returns where it’s extremely difficult for non-profits.” 

The organization remains strong, however, and that strength will be on full display at the May 6 dinner. 

“The 100-year anniversary is a magic moment for us and an opportunity to pause and reflect on the direction we’re heading,” he said. “We have celebrated 100 years, and both fortunately and unfortunately, we have another 100 ahead of us as an organization in good position to fight that fight.” 

For more info on the dinner or the Detroit NAACP, visit www.detroitnaacp.org. To purchase tickets, call 313.871.2087.