The head of the NAACP said the organization is 'reinvigorating' to attract younger members
- The NAACP pioneered the Civil Rights movement and is now rebranding to attract younger people.
- It will start to focus more on issues like climate change, student debt, and the pandemic response.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is revitalizing its image to appeal to younger people just in time for its 113th birthday, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
The NAACP, founded by a group of leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells in 1909, pioneered the Civil Rights movement and has largely centered its fight on voting rights and criminal justice.
And while those struggles will continue to be at the forefront of the grassroots organization's agenda, more attention will also be paid to climate change, student debt, and the coronavirus pandemic response, according to the AP.
"We had to reinvigorate the organization," national president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, told the Associated Press.
"The changes that we have seen are absolutely necessary for the organization to exist for the next 112 or 113 years," he added. "But more importantly, we are more targeted in our work and are driven by outcomes as opposed to output."
After the voting rights legislation failed in Senate on Wednesday night, Johnson released a statement saying that the "shameful outcome revealed who stands for, and who stands against democracy."
"The fight is far from over," he added.
A representative for Derrick Johnson did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.