n legislation, and a grade based on the percentage of percentage of votes in agreement with the NAACP. Not surprisingly, most Democrats got A’s or B’s, and Republicans got D’s or F’s. The NAACP Washington Bureau, the department that specializes in lobbying, is in charge of this Legislative Report Card (Hilary). Since becoming the bureau director in 1997, Hilary Shelton has been responsible for advocating the NAACP agenda in Congress. The Bureau releases testimony with reference to hearings on certain bills. For example, they published Harold McDougall’s testimony at a hearing about including multiracial categories in the United States Census. Shelton has been pushing Congress to pass the Traffic Stops Statistics Study Act introduced by Representative John Conyers (D-MI) as the first step to produce a “much-needed study” into the problem of police stopping drivers only because they are black Americans or some other ethnic minority (Hilary). He calls them “Driving While Black (DWB)” statistics (Hilary). One of the most recent example of lobbying done by the NAACP is the economic sanctions against South Carolina began January 1, 2000. Until the Confederate battle flag was removed from atop the Statehouse, removed from within the House and Senate Chambers, and relegated to a place of historical context only, the NAACP had its members and supporters—along with corporations, religious, and civic organizations—postpone or relocate vacations, family reunions, meetings, conventions, or workshops in the state. The Association feels that the flag represents “one of the most reprehensible aspects of American history” (Hilary). After losing well over $100 million in the tourism industry alone, the Confederate flag was moved, from the location where it had been since 1962, to an area near the South Carolina Confederate Soldiers Monument (McBride). After the hate...
