Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP, to leave the organization in January

Tucked into a booth at Copper Canyon Grill in Silver Spring on Friday, Benjamin Jealous talked about what has been a closely guarded secret: his decision to step down as president of the NAACP come January.

In between bites of artichoke dip and bouts of nostalgia, Jealous addressed his legacy and his resignation, which is scheduled to be announced Monday. “As others questioned its vitality, we have been able to regrow the mightiest of all trees in the ecology of social justice,” he said. “I’m really going to miss the street fights we’ve been in.”