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The NAACP 110th National Convention – Detroit, MI USA - July
20th thru July 24th, 2019
By Annette Wright
Special to the Truth
Last week, from July 20th
– July 24th, 2019 all roads led to COBO Hall in Detroit,
Michigan for the 110th NAACP National Convention. With a
host of very impressive workshops, galas and presentations,
this year’s National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People Convention was most likely one of its most
important events, due in large part to the extremely
challenging political environment that African-Americans are
living under presently.
The NAACP’s Presidential
Candidate Forum, undoubtedly, was largely responsible for
the onslaught of global media presence. The NAACP tradition
of inviting the current sitting president continued during
this year’s convention with an invitation to President
Trump. Trump declined his invitation.
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ACT-SO Awardees
Senator Kamala Harris
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On July 23, 2019, in the
midst of the convention, the NAACP passed a resolution
supporting the impeachment of President Trump. Nonetheless,
nine Democratic Presidential hopefuls made their way into
Detroit for the Presidential Candidate forum hosted by CNN
Political Analyst and White House Correspondent, April Ryan.
Each candidate spent about
10 minutes each in a one-on-one chat with the well-known
Ryan, who garnered headlines in January 2018 when she asked
President Donald Trump if he was a racist. Ryan presented
each candidate with a unique set of questions primarily
focusing on issues of concern to African American voters.
Former Vice-President Joe
Biden, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Cory Booker, Senator
Amy Klobuchar, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth
Warren, South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former HUD
Secretary Julian Castro and former Massachusetts Governor
Bill Welds, the lone Republican candidate in attendance, all
presented their plans and stated their positions on issues
regarding racism, education, police and criminal justice
reform, poverty, environmental matters (particularly lead in
our water systems), civil rights for LGBTQ citizens, Russian
election interference, housing and student loan debt.
Of particular interest,
during the forum, was when Ryan posed the question of
reparations to Sanders, who is on record as being against
reparations. Sanders responded: "Here’s my fear about
reparations, and I understand the issue, and I’m on board
the legislation that will study the issue… Here’s my fear:
The Congress gives the African American community a $20,000
check, and says, 'Thank you, that took care of slavery, we
don’t have to worry about anything more.' I think that’s
wrong, I want to build, rebuild the distressed communities
in America."
Many of the more than
1,000 people in attendance applauded Senator Sanders’
response. Another well received response came from Weld when
he shared his view on the current status of the Republican
Party, stating that “Unless the Republican Party in
Washington expressly rejects the racism of Donald Trump,
they are going to come to be universally viewed as the party
of racism in America.”
In addition to the
Presidential Candidate Forum, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
also visited Detroit for the NAACP Convention. Pelosi has
been under pressure from many in the Democratic Party to
proceed with Impeachment against Trump. However, Pelosi
expressed patience as Congress continues to investigate
other areas of potential criminal activities by Trump and
his administration.
The timing of Special
Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before the House
Judiciary Committee, which took place in the midst of the
Convention, only seemed to have fueled the calls by many
delegates and attendees for the impeachment of Trump.
More celebratory events
also took place during the convention. During the Spingarn
Freedom Fund Awards Dinner Celebration, where Patrick
Gaspard delivered the keynote, many gifted, talented and
inspiring youths were celebrated and acknowledged.
As stated by the NAACP,
The Spingarn Medal is the NAACP highest honor, given
annually to an individual of African descent and American
citizenship for outstanding achievement. First instituted in
1914 by the late J.E. Spingarn–then NAACP Chairman of the
Board of Directors– the gold medal is to be awarded for the
highest or noblest achievement by an American Negro during
the preceding year or years.
A complete list of all
honorees, to date, are available on the NAACP’s web site.
A notable moment during
this year’s Spingarn Awards dinner occurred when the disc
jockey for the event began to play a popular song by legally
embattled R&B Singer R. Kelly. Within seconds of recognizing
the music the young crowd began to chant “no, no, no!” And
with that, the DJ immediately stopped playing the tune and
quickly put on more satisfactory musical selections.
Other very well attended
workshops and forums included: A Welcome Concert by the
Detroit Branch; WIN (Women in the NAACP) Empowerment Brunch;
ACT-SO Awards Ceremony; Public Mass Meeting, hosted by
Chairman Leon W. Russell; The Clarence Mitchell Memorial
Luncheon, which featured Stacey Abrams; The Roy Wilkins
Luncheon; A Health Luncheon, presented by U.S. Surgeon
General and Vice Admiral Dr. Adams; Federal Legislative
Workshop; Federal Judicial Nominations Workshop; Youth &
College Public Mass Meeting ; Black Presidential Staff of
2020 Fireside Chat; CEO Roundtable; A presentation by
Michael Bloomberg.
Already, next year’s
111tth NAACP Convention planning is underway, slated for
Boston, Massachusetts.
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