Diversity of population is coming rapidly to Fayette County, says Edward Johnson Jr., and the county's branch of the NAACP is poised to help promote the understanding that "the concept of rundown property values and deteriorating schools is just not the reality."

Most African American families moving into Fayette are well-educated, upper and middle-income people who are seeking the same quality of life that any other families seek, Johnson says.

The 44-year-old Navy Commander has just been named president of the local branch. He shared his views in an interview which also included Nelson B. Rivers III, director of the Southeast Region for the NAACP. Rivers too is a Fayette County resident, though his job position covers seven Deep South states.

"I see the Fayette Branch as being proactive," Johnson says, "in helping all of Fayette County not feel threatened by changes. If there are instances of discrimination, we will investigate fairly and impartially. We don't want to be seen as jumping up and crying 'racism,' but we do want to investigate and to bring justice when it's needed."

Johnson said he led a "sheltered" life, growing up in New Orleans, and was unaware of a lot of the history of discrimination and the role of the NAACP. He says he's happy to be learning from Rivers, "a man with a lot of history."

Rivers says he "chose" Fayette County as his home, despite the difficulties faced in past years with the Fayette Board of Education and certain schools. The board has a human relations committee as a result of school incidents which triggered NAACP involvement, he added, along with the Concerned African American Citizens Coalition.

"You need the NAACP for the same reason you don't abolish your police departments just because Fayette County has a low crime rate," Rivers states. "The police do their job, and the crime rate stays down. If we do our job, the number of cases of discrimination stays down too. We act as a deterrent to violations of civil rights. Just because injustice may not be as overt or violent as it has been in the past, does not mean that it should not be called to account."