The NAACP advocates for smarter, results-based criminal justice policies to keep our communities safe, including treatment for addiction and mental health problems, judicial discretion in sentencing, and an end to racial disparities at all levels of the system.

The United States is home to the world’s largest prison population. As “tough on crime” laws have put an unprecedented number of non-violent offenders behind bars in recent years, our neighborhoods feel no more secure.

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• Empower local communities with the necessary education, resources, and partnerships to develop sustainable economic models that advance diversity and equity.

• Ensure that government and industry are knowledgeable, and committed to bridging racial inequality particularly as it relates to employment, wealth, lending and business ownership.

• Grow a movement of concerned citizens and organization who work together to produce an inclusive and strong middle-class economy for the 21st century.

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The Education Committee of the national board, in concert with education chairs and leaders from across the Association, have settled upon a four-prong strategy to improve educational achievement for disadvantaged students:

• Increasing Resource Equity: Target funds to neediest kids

• Ensuring College & Career Readiness: A path to success after graduation for all students

• Improving Teaching: Growing our own great teachers now in underserved communities

• Improving Discipline: Eliminate zero tolerance; keep kids in school* All applied to turnaround schools

In the past, and to some extent still now, when people think of environmentalism, they often think of saving the whales or hugging trees! When folks think about climate change, what often comes to mind are melting ice caps and suffering polar bears. Historically, American society has failed to make the connection in terms of the direct impact of environmental injustices, including climate change, on our own lives, families, and communities, all of whom depend on the physical environment and its bounty.

Priorities include:

• the promotion and protection of civil rights,

• securing a fair and equal criminal justice system,

• ensuring high-quality educational opportunities for all Americans,

• a fair labor environment, and

• securing affordable adequate housing and health care for all Americans.

The mission of the NAACP is to ensure equal political, educational, social, and economic rights for all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. This mission includes a focus on the right of African Americans and other people of color to have optimal health outcomes and access to timely, quality, affordable health care. African Americans continue to have the highest incidence, prevalence and mortality rates from chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, and issues like HIV/AIDS continue to overwhelm the Black community more so than any other racial or ethnic group.

The NAACP is committed to eliminating the racial and ethnic inequities that exist within our health care system that undermine communities of color their life opportunities and their ability to contribute fully to the common good.