As NAACP convention finishes in Philadelphia, what’s going on with local chapter?

The NAACP’s 106th annual national convention in Philadelphia has featured President Barack Obama giving a noteworthy speech on the criminal justice system and they will hear from former President Bill Clinton today, followed by a closing address tonight by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

So much has been spoken about the organization’s strength and relevance leading up to and during the convention. NewsWorks blogger Solomon Jones chimed in on the state of the Philadelphia branch and some of the issues it is facing.

“There was some infighting with the former president Jerry Mondesire,” Jones said. “There were some board members who had made accusations about him with some finances and it got to the point where the national [NAACP] stepped in and removed all of them from the organization.”

Mondesire and board members Donald Birts, Elisha Morris, and Sid Booker were removed following the ugly public feud which stemmed from a $10,000 donation to the chapter from Market East Associates, a group that was trying to win a Philadelphia casino license.

He was replaced by Rev. Rodney Muhammad in Dec. 2014. Jones said that it was Muhammad’s job to shore up the alliances and get the organization back on solid footing, and he thinks he is capable of doing so.

“I think he can offer some stability,” Jones said. “The NAACP is a very interesting organization. It has a very Judeo-Christian background; Minister Rodney Muhammad is Muslim so there’s some tension there, but I think it’s something that can be overcome.”

To hear Solomon Jones’s full conversation with WHYY’s Jennifer Lynn, click the audio above.