SAN ANTONIO — Demonstrations and protests are a part of the history of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Both are also in the blood of the San Antonio chapter president Dr. Gregory Hudspeth.
A life-long member, he recalls taking on the grocery store Handy Andy and Joske’s of Texas as a youth council member the NAACP. According to Hudspeth, Handy Andy would let African-Americans work as cashiers. The department store would let Blacks eat in its restaurants in San Antonio.
The associate professor at St. Philips College recalls walking a picket line around Handy Andy in protest for change.
“We find ourselves in an environment in which African-Americans over the years have suffered from unequal treatment, unfair treatment,” Hudspeth said.
In 2020, he is not surprised at the fervor for justice after George Floyd was killed by four police officers in Minneapolis. Each officer has been fired and charged in connection to his death.
“It was a public lynching,” He said. “It wasn’t with a rope; it was with a knee. It had the same effect.”
Hudspeth said the NAACP supports peaceful protests even in incidents that have angered the masses like the shooting death of Ahmaud Arberry and the strangulation of Floyd.
He learned early on that protests have points, strategies, and can even garner allies to produce a positive outcome.
“We need to stay on point with regard to what we want. We need to stay on point with regard to fair treatment,” he said. “We don’t get that when we have people who are looting.”
San Antonio Police have arrested around a dozen suspects in connection to unlawful, riotous activity since protests started in downtown Saturday. In fact, looting and the noise of the rioting may be drowning out the calls against police brutality.
“It is very easy for individuals who are not a part of the protests to hijack the message,” He said.
Hudspeth said the looting can steal the story. Instead, he said protesters should be focused on adequate health care for African-Americans, lack of employment opportunities, and lack of educational opportunities for blacks.
Newer activists have called the NAACP model outdated and not relevant. Hudspeth said their strategies may have produced slower gains, but he can see the accomplishments.
He points to being able to enjoy a play at the Majestic. At one time, blacks weren’t allowed to purchase tickets.
“We got their wit the cooperation of many in our population. Folks who didn’t look like us,” He said. “When you engage in looting and burning and destruction of property you lose the support.”
