by Krissah Thompson, Washington Post Staff Writer

NEW YORK -- In the beginning, the purpose of the nation's oldest civil rights organization was well defined: to achieve equal justice under the law for black Americans.

One hundred years later, as 5,000 members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People gather here to set an agenda, little is so clear-cut.

The NAACP faces a slew of questions: Has the election of the first black U.S. president marked the end of the civil rights agenda? Must an organization traditionally focused on the plight of black Americans expand its mission? What should a black civil rights organization do in 2009?

The NAACP has long been a prism through which to view the puzzle of race in America, and the current uncertainty promises to be a presence at its week-long centennial convention, which will include addresses from President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.

The association's president, Benjamin Todd Jealous -- who at 36 is the youngest person to ever lead the organization -- acknowledges the pride his membership takes in hosting the first black president and attorney general but argues that their ascension does not negate the need for the NAACP. In many ways, the convention this week sets out to prove that point.

Jealous began the year by laying out his vision for an organization focused not solely on old civil rights battles, but on human rights as well. He envisions an NAACP primarily serving a black constituency but with a broader outlook.

"We are a very black organization, but we are not a black organization. There is a difference. It's the difference between being able to play the black position on the field and being able to play any position," Jealous said. "We are from our origin a multiracial, multiethnic human rights organization."
 

 Read the full article here.