It is rare to see Democrats and black leaders scold the NAACP. But it is rare even for the civil rights organization to say something quite so dumb as it did recently when it called for a moratorium on new charter schools.

Black education reform leaders describe the proposal as "inexplicable," "ill-conceived" and "out-of-touch."

Shavar Jeffries, president of Democrats for Education Reform, says a moratorium would harm black students. "The public charter school moratorium put forward at this year's NAACP convention does a disservice to communities of color," Jeffries said. "This moratorium would contravene the NAACP's historic legacy as a champion for expanding opportunity for families of color."

The NAACP needs to be reminded that the second A in its name stands for Advancement.

Across the country, charter shools are helping black students escape failing schools. They're empowering students such as Tariq, in Detroit. He was fortunate to attend Detroit Edison Public School Academy instead of Detroit's terrible traditional public schools. On the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Detroit's public schools came last among large urban districts in reading and math at both the fourth and eighth grade level. Less than 10 percent of students are proficient in the subject matter.

Instead, Tariq went to a charter school where he and more than a thousand other black students thrive. Through 2014, 95 percent of the school's students graduate within four years, with 70 percent of students enrolling in college. Tariq has been accepted to Harvard, and plans to study biology on his way to becoming a doctor.

Data confirm that charters' success is not merely anecdotal. As Jeffries said, "Research clearly shows that as a whole, Black children benefit greatly, in terms of academic achievement and college enrollment, from attending high-quality public charter schools."

In New York City, new testing data show that the level of student proficiency in English is 13 percent higher than in traditional public schools. Student proficiency in math is 27 percent higher in charters. And analysis from Families for Excellent Schools found specifically that black and Hispanic students in New York City charters scored 73 percent higher on state tests than their peers in traditional public schools. That success comes despite Mayor Bill de Blasio's scorn for charters.

Research from Stanford's Center for Research on Education Outcomes is considered the most thorough on the effects of charter schools. A 2015 report found that black students in urban charter schools nationwide learned the equivalent of 36 extra days of math and 26 extra days of reading. The gains for black students in poverty were even larger: 59 days of math and 44 days of reading.

Part of the NAACP resolution against charters claims the schools are eroding "local control of public education." To the contrary, President Obama's bureaucratic edicts from Washington have diminished that control. Charters strengthen local control by empowering those who know students best — their parents. Rather than trying to get one neighborhood school to fit every parent's ideals, charters allow different types of schools to thrive while parents get to pick which is best for their child.

Charter schools are publicly funded and do not charge tuition fees. Compared to traditional public schools, charters have more independence and flexibility in their operations and curricula, which is why many families find them desirable. They are open to all students, but due to great demand must often use a lottery system to allocate spaces. As of 2011, more than 1 million students are on charter waitlists. How wonderful it would be if there were more charter schools — enough to meet demand.

Not all charters work. But unlike traditional public schools, failing charters can easily be closed, and that feature is deliberate.

Overall, charter schools do an amazing job of what's most important: educating children.

The NAACP should abandon this position, which one suspects is about the advancement, or at least the maintenance, of incompetent teachers rather than the advancement of the the schools' clients, who are black children.