Twilight Zone for the N.A.A.C.P.

Divided by internal feuds, it searches for new directions

It is America's oldest, largest and best-known civil rights organization, but not since its founding in 1910 has the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People faced a deeper crisis. Membership is stagnant, it has growing financial problems, and the 64-member board is divided not by searching debates over new directions but by personal feuds and internal politics. Beyond that, the association is engaged in a costly battle with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund over the fund's use of those initials. "The N.A.A.C.P. is in its twilight zone," says Martin...