NAACP Ends Wal-Mart Fight

The local chapter of the NAACP has scrapped an idea to boycott the Wal-Mart Supercenter that is slated to open at Southtown Centre on Wednesday, said the Rev. Michael Latham, the organization’s president.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. representatives met with NAACP members last week and discussed concerns about the store’s policies, Latham said Monday. The NAACP had objected to the Southtown store being open 18 hours a day instead of 24 and other policies that were different from existing Wal-Mart locations in Fort Wayne.

Latham said he is now convinced that Wal-Mart made the decisions on a business basis. The NAACP had objected to the fact Wal-Mart would not offer layaway at the Southtown location, but the world’s largest retailer announced last week that it is eliminating layaway at all of its stores. The company will have additional checkout lanes to compensate for the lack of self-checkout lines at the store, Latham said.