In response to the highly debated “not guilty” verdict of George Zimmerman, many civil rights activists have called for federal prosecution of Zimmerman on civil rights grounds. Groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) are rallying efforts to reopen the case in pursuit of a guilty charge, convinced that Trayvon Martin’s death was the result of racial profiling, and that self-defense is implausible.
In its petition to the Department of Justice, which has garnered over 100,000 signatures, the NAACP states:
The Department of Justice has closely monitored the State of Florida’s prosecution of the case against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder since it began. The most fundamental of civil rights — the right to life — was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin.
But does the NAACP consistently support the right to life? Although it staunchly and repeatedly states that it has no stance on abortion, well-documented actions by the NAACP betray this assertion as false. Ryan Bomberger, founder of the Radiance Foundation, chronicles the NAACP’s support of abortion. Among others, his findings include:
- NAACP Chairman Julian Bond serving in 2004 as the keynote speaker for one of the premier abortion-advocate organizations in America: NARAL. Also in 2004, Bond keynoted the abortion lobby’s version of the March for Life: the “March for Women’s Lives.”
- Under pressure from the national NAACP, a pro-life Georgia chapter of the organization is forced to rescind support for a GA bill that would ban abortion based on race.
- In 2011, the NAACP defended Planned Parenthood when Live Action exposed its cover-up of sex trafficking.
Below is a comprehensive list of right-to-life violations of the NAACP:
Can the NAACP decry an alleged legal violation of the right to life while simultaneously defending abortion? There’s a term for that: “Talking out of both sides of the mouth.” However, as individuals and organizations like the Radiance Foundation (who received a lawsuit threat from the NAACP for calling the organization out on its abortion support) have experienced, the NAACP doesn’t take kindly to being called out on its inconsistencies.
