DECATUR - A radio show lineup change is driving the Decatur NAACP to rally the city's African-American community for action on other fronts.

Nearly 100 people filled the Madden Auditorium of the Decatur Public Library on Thursday evening for a town meeting, with a dozen participants taking a turn at the microphone. Some spoke about the racism they've encountered, but many more expressed hope that the city's black citizens could work together for positive change.

Walt Smith, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Decatur, said he came to the meeting reluctantly because he has heard such talk before. He cited the outcome of a community activist's unsuccessful efforts to change Decatur's form of government before his death in 1998.

"We killed the vision the good Rev. (C. Ezra) West had for our community because we couldn't set aside our petty differences," Smith said. "We are on the verge of extinction here if we don't turn around what we have allowed the system to provide for us as a race of people."

Jeanelle Keck, special projects planner for Decatur, said too many black citizens give other people too much power over their lives.

"We have to become relevant," she said. "I can tell you that no white person has ever dictated to me what I can and cannot do."

Jeffrey Perkins, president of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called Thursday's meeting after WDZ 1050 replaced syndicated shows hosted by Michael Baisden and Tom Joyner with programs by different black hosts.

But he said the issue is bigger than that. "It's gotten to the point where blacks feel invisible in this community," he said.

Brandishing a copy of the new Decatur/Macon County Comprehensive Plan at the beginning of the meeting, he said he could find little evidence it reflects any of the input he or any other black person gave. He also had meeting participants fill out a survey about where in Decatur they spend their money, promising to examine how those merchants value blacks in return.

"As God as my witness, as I stand here tonight, the NAACP is going to start addressing all these issues in this community," Perkins said. "We're going to be in the forefront, and you can come along with us or you can be left behind."

Theresa Churchill can be reached at tchurchill@herald-review.com or 421-7978.