While Dora Bronston, who recently was re-elected as president of the Middletown NAACP, has seen advancements for blacks in leadership positions, she said there’s still a need for the organization.

“There’s always going to be prejudice people in the world,” said Bronston, 61, who’s beginning her third two-year term as leader of the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “It’s about checks and balances. When people know they’re being watched, they’re more apt to be fair. We don’t want to go back to the past. We want to keep moving forward.”

Of Middletown’s 48,962 residents, 83.3 percent are white, 11.7 percent are black and 3.8 percent are Hispanic, according to the latest U.S. census.

Bronston said the city has shown growth in the hiring of black leaders. She pointed to the hiring of Terry Sherrer as executive director of the Middletown Area United Way, Angela Howard as executive director of the Middletown Area YMCA, and the hiring of black leaders at Cincinnati State Middletown as signs that blacks are moving into leadership positions.

“We see a lot happening in town,” she said.

To assure that this continues, Bronston said she routinely meets with leaders in the City of Middletown, the Middletown City Schools District, Atrium Medical Center and AK Steel to assure employees of those businesses reflect the complexion of the city.

“We need to stand together and work together,” she said. “We have to work toward unity. We are one people regardless of our races.”

Bronston, director of the Solid Rock Bible College, said this year’s NAACP theme is “Completing One Another.”

When asked what that means, Bronston said: “It’s like you have what I need, and I have what you need. Strengths come through unity. Team work makes dream work.”

She said the role of the NAACP is to be a “support system” for those who believe their civil rights were violated. She said the organization serves as mediators when there is a possible issue that can’t be resolved.

“People look for us to step up,” she said. “We do the research and make sure everything is the way it should be.”

She hopes the NAACP is perceived as a “proactive organization for the community.”

Bronston said the NAACP scholarship banquet, when the winners are announced, will be May 4. The time and location will be announced later, she said.