Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

DuBose begins third term as Georgia NAACP leader

“He is not a radical. He is a diplomat.”

That, Clarence Carr says, makes Edward DuBose an “effective leader.”

Both Carr and DuBose represent Georgia on the National Board of the NAACP.

In October, DuBose of Columbus was elected to a third consecutive term as president of the Georgia State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Of the three times he has run for the office, this was the first time he had opposition. DuBose won handily over Bob Jackson of Carrollton, 118 delegate votes to 22.

“It was really uplifting to me to know that the people still have confidence in my ability,” DuBose said. “It was like getting a report card with good grades.”

Carr, who lives in Marietta, Ga., is a Bishop with the A.M.E. Zion Church. Carr isn’t sure just how long he has been a member of the NAACP, but the other day he came across a membership card from 1962, so he knows he was a member before that.

“Ed DuBose is quite involved,” Carr said. “He seems to be up on all the issues and is the type of person who knows how to get to the root of an issue.”

And there are still plenty of them, though, some thought there might be fewer after an African-American was elected president of the United States.

“That election was a great achievement that will pay dividends for years to come but, no, it didn’t solve everything,” Carr said.

DuBose agrees.

“There is still plenty of injustice,” said DuBose, who leads groups in more than 100 counties and more than 12,000 NAACP members. “There is still discrimination. There are people losing their homes through foreclosure. There are still more young black men in jail than in college. The need for the NAACP is greater than ever.”

Asked about his main goal for the next two years, DuBose replied, “I want to have more of a focus on youth.”

DuBose’s achievements

DuBose is a native of Atlanta, the third oldest of 10 children. Upon getting a degree from Harper High School, he joined the U.S. Army and served 21 years. The Sgt. 1st Class served overseas in Germany, Korea and Italy.

While still in the Army, he became president of the Columbus branch of the NAACP and under his leadership increased membership by more than 50 percent.

He also overcame a five-year debt totaling more than $6,000 in just six months.

DuBose coordinated the largest protest march in the city’s history, some 15,000 people, following the shooting death of Kenneth Walker, and assisted in planning the city’s first Black History Month weekend celebration. He first became Georgia president on Oct. 10, 2005.

DuBose’s philosophy as leader of the state is “greatness can only be achieved through hard work and a willing mind.”

In that role, he has fought for a new trial for Troy Davis, who was sentenced to death for murder, a case in which several witnesses recanted their stories. In 2008, the NAACP called for an investigation when slave graves were to be moved for a landfill in Clayton County. Also in 2008, he called for an apology from the legislature for the state’s role in slavery.

“I got involved in the NAACP because I wanted to pay back for the work that others did to make my life better,” he said.

DuBose, who now has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in clinical mental health counseling, must balance his NAACP job with that of owner of Oxygen Mental Health Services, which provides in home counseling to at-risk youth and families throughout the state.

“There is a lot of traveling which keeps me away from my business,” said DuBose, a married father of three grown children.

His wife, Cynthia, helps with the business.

Still, because of the hectic schedule, the 51 year-old DuBose says this may be his last term as president.

“I’ll see when the time comes,” he said. “I just know I have plenty of work to do until then.”

Larry Gierer,706-571-8581