New NAACP Chapter President Pledges Response to Problems of Youth

Fresh from a rousing send-off by local NAACP supporters, new Valley chapter President Zedar Broadous vowed Monday to work to provide young people with alternatives to gangs and other harmful activities.

“The biggest problem with our young people is they don’t have positive things to do,” said Broadous, 45, who took the helm of the 37-year-old San Fernando Valley branch this week. “We need to come up with programs and activities . . . and make them aware of the opportunities they do have.”

A longtime member of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, Broadous said he will also highlight positive contributions by young people to counteract media images of violence and crime on the streets.

“Sometimes they don’t get to see the other side,” said Broadous, a Pacoima resident and graphic artist.

During his installation Sunday, family and community members packed the Calvary Baptist Church in Pacoima for a music-and-dance-filled service. John Mance, who helped organize the chapter in 1955, was on hand.

“I know that he will bring to the NAACP a refreshing program certainly suitable for all people, regardless of race, color, creed and national origin,” Mance said.

Broadous became the chapter’s top officer after longtime President Jose DeSosa decided not to run for reelection after 14 years. DeSosa, who headed the chapter since 1978, will continue as president of the NAACP’s California State Conference, an umbrella organization for local branches.

Under his leadership, the local organization became known for its feisty civil rights battles, including community protests against the Los Angeles Police Department’s use of a motorized battering ram in Pacoima as well as its use of chokeholds to restrain suspects. Chapter members actively monitored the criminal trial of four LAPD officers accused of beating motorist Rodney G. King.