Washington-based TV host Roland Martin hosted a debate on the NAACP's stance against charter schools.

Yesterday, on a morning news broadcast in the nation's capital, host Roland Martin asked the question: "Is the NAACP out of step with black folks?"

He was grilling Hilary Shelton, the director of the NAACP's Washington bureau, about the national civil rights organization's latest stand against school choice.

In mid-July, the organization's members approved a resolution that called for restricting the growth of charter schools. They've passed resolutions critical of charters before, but the new one, which recently started making the rounds on blogs critical of education reform, goes further. It calls for an outright moratorium "on the proliferation of privately managed charter schools."

The ensuing controversy mirrors recent events in Florida, where educators and black clergy members who support the NAACP have taken issue with its role in a lawsuit challenging a private school choice program* for low-income children.

Martin, a prominent journalist at the black-owned D.C. outlet News One, is an unabashed supporter of school choice who speaks at charter school conferences and spars with critics on his Twitter feed. He told Shelton that surveys show African-Americans are more likely to support charters. He wanted to know whether NAACP leaders would get more input before they meet in the fall, when the resolution could become official policy for the organization.

"Are you going to bring in black folks who run charter schools to get their perspective?" he asked, adding: "I can give you a list." (more…)