NEW YORK, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- NAACP Vice Chairwoman Roslyn M. Brock was elevated to chairwoman of the U.S. civil rights group, making her the youngest-ever leader of the 101-year-old group.
Brock's endorsement Saturday by the NAACP's 64-member board of directors means the group's top leaders -- Brock, 44, and President Benjamin Jealous, 37 -- are too young to have lived through the civil rights movement that led to desegregation, The Washington Post noted Sunday.
In accepting the post from longtime leader Julian Bond, 70, Brock said her goal is to shape the focus of the NAACP and make it again relevant to life in the United States. She cited increasing the group's membership while homing in on issues such as healthcare, education, the economy and crime, the Post said.
"As we move forward, our greatest challenge really is to hone our message to make it relevant," Brock said. "We have to recognize and to own that we can't be all things to all people, and that there are new players in the space that we operate in who may be able to do some things better than we can."
The Post said the average age of the NAACP's board of directors is 58.
