NAACP president choice a ?generational statement?

The NAACP?s choice of a 35-year-old to head the civil rights group represents a “generational statement” that the organization hopes will appeal to young black Americans.

With Benjamin Todd Jealous at the helm, the Baltimore-based NAACP can attract more black Americans younger than 40, which will help it overcome two of its most daunting challenges: gaining traction on the local level and raising more money, said Ronald Walters, a government professor and director of the African American Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland, College Park.