Bejamin Todd Jealous has been president of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, the NAACP, for five years. On Sunday, he announced his resignation, and that he will officially leave in December. Now 40 years old, Jealous began the position as president in 2008, following jobs as a community organizer, newspaper editor and Amnesty International Official. While announcing his resignation, jealous explained his desire to spend “a lot more time with my young family,” which consists of a 1-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. The organization has not indicated the selection of a successor, but emphasized that Jealous crafted a staff to “meet the civil rights challenges of the 21st century.”
During his time as president, Jealous worked hard to fight against recent laws that made it hard for some people to vote, and called the Supreme Court’s rejection of a portion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act “outrageous.” He was a true promoter of the organization, and a valuable asset to its financial and social endurance. Jealous said: “The NAACP has always been the largest civil rights organization in the street, and today it is also the largest civil rights organization online, on mobile and at the ballot box too. I am proud to leave the Association financially sound, sustainable, focused and more powerful the ever.”
