History was made last night when about 40 students of varied race and ethnicity came together in the Barker Center's Thompson Room to incorporate the first-ever Harvard chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The meeting was the follow-up to a meeting held last week with Julian Bond, the NAACP's national chair. At the earlier meeting, Bond stressed that the NAACP is not just an organization for blacks, and encouraged people of all races to consider membership.

Kamal I. Latham, a student at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) who was elected president of the Harvard chapter last night, said Bond's opinion prompted him to revise his own notions about the NAACP.

Latham said the organization is different from ethnic organizations on campus simply because "it is not an ethnic organization. It is just the hub of a bicycle wheel. It is for anyone who's interested in the advancement of society and civil rights."

Fentrice D. Driskell '01 agreed. "[The NAACP] is for the advancement of colored people, but not only colored people should be for their advantage," she said.

Driskell said the organization also differs from existing ethnic organizations in that "it's not a social club."

Tawney B. Pearson '01 said she hoped the chapter would also serve as an umbrella organization, connecting related groups in the College and the various graduate schools.

"I think it will take on [the task of a] minority students' alliance throughout the entire University," she said.

Driskell said the chapter will serve as a central group to handle problems which had previously been shuffled between groups.

"These are everybody's problems," she said. "We can't just push them aside as problems of specific groups."

One possible obstacle the chapter faces is the University's refusal to recog- nize nationally affiliated student groups.Hazel T. Edney, moderator of last night's meetingand a KSG student, said the group plans to forgeahead whether or not it is officially recognized.

"This should in no way be construed as anattack on Harvard," she said. "It is an attempt tomake Harvard a better place."

In her opening remarks, Edney cited severalstatistics and recent incidents as evidence ofdiscriminatory policies and mindsets in the Bostonarea and at Harvard.

Roberta D. Edwards, a KSG student who also ranfor chapter president, told the group in herspeech that she was fired from her job at theMetropolitan Boston Transit Association foractively advocating civil rights. She also pointedto hearings held by the Boston City Councilyesterday to reconsider existing affirmativeaction employment programs in the city's fire andpolice departments.

Edwards said the dynamic nature of Harvardmakes its chapter especially likely to be at theforefront of change. "The success of the civilrights movement happens because of the support ofcollege students," she said.

Rev. Jamal Bryant, national youth director forthe NAACP, agreed that the University would loseout on a crucial opportunity by failing to open achapter.