Work for Tomorrow

Posted on December 29, 2011

As 2011 comes to a close, the NAACP has launched a series of blogs, "10 Reasons to be a Part of NAACP", reflecting on our work this year and the year ahead. Each day, we'll feature a new blog on our social networks. View the entire "10 Reasons" series, and donate to the NAACP here.

It is no secret that for more than 100 years the NAACP has been on the battleground of social justice advocacy; but what if the fight ended? The issues and concerns would remain, but the fight would end because the battalion of advocates succumbed to childhood obesity. If we do not take action, this generation of young people could be the first to live sicker and die younger in United States history.

The number of obese African–American children is disproportionately higher than that of other American children. The three root causes of childhood obesity are addressed in our Childhood Obesity Advocacy Manual.  The causes are: built environment; food environment and school-based policies.

This year, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina M. Benjamin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation partnered with the NAACP to release this manual alongside elementary school students from Washington. After discussing the issue of childhood obesity and a brief overview of our manual, the students took action and participated in various physical activities like jumping rope, basketball and dancing. Now it is time for you to take action.

We need to ensure that our work today is protected and we have healthy advocates to carry our work for tomorrow. Donate to the NAACP today and help us guarantee that our work will continue in our children.