Carrying on a legacy of civil rights activism in New London

January 31, 2015 11:00 pm • Last Updated: February 01, 2015 11:10 pm

By By GREG SMITH Day Staff Writer

New London - Jean Jordan says her strong relationship with the New London Branch of the NAACP is something of a family legacy.

Her mother, Mary, was a member. Her great aunt and uncle were charter members of the organization. Her cousin, former New London NAACP President Linwood W. Bland Jr., was an influential figure during the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and helped form the NAACP's Norwich branch.

Jordan, 53, a kindergarten teacher at the Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School, quietly took over as the organization's new president at the beginning of the year. She said she hopes to expand membership, draw in younger members and improve on the group's image.

"I don't think we fully have the respect of the community. They see sound bites, usually about a black and white issue, when we appear in the newspaper. We are so much more," she said. "This is not a black organization per say. It's a civil rights organization. We are inclusive, not exclusive."

Jordan says anyone - no matter their race, color or gender - should be able to come to the group to discuss civil rights violations or discrimination.

"I don't care who you are ? we're defending the idea that we all have certain rights," she said.

Part of what will attract membership, she said, is activity and visibility of the group, which already has had a jump in new registrations over the past several months.

"If people don't see you active, they decide they don't want to be a part of you," she said.

She said membership ebbs and flows and she did not have exact membership numbers. Rallies and vigils organized by NAACP branches locally and nationwide that coincided with recent national topics - such as the shooting of a black man by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. - have raised the visibility of the group, she said.

"But we don't want to just be out there when something happens," Jordan said. "It's not just about protesting all of the time. Most of the work within the NAACP is just having conversations with people. We'll work with anybody and everybody that wants to work with us. We need to take on more of a role about educating and teaching the youth about what's happened in the past - why we fight for civil rights. I'm always surprised by the number of young people who don't understand."

Jordan says she's been a member of the NAACP "basically all my life" and an executive board member for the past 15 years, serving as chairwoman of the organization's youth committee. Jordan attended New London schools and is a former Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship recipient. She has taught in the New London school system since 1984.

Jordan started her two-year term as president on Jan. 1, replacing former President Don Wilson. She was elected at an annual meeting in December after petitioning her way onto the ballot against Mark Roberts, chosen to run by a nominating committee.

g.smith@theday.com

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