President Barack Obama will deliver the keynote address on July 14 during the NAACP’s 106th annual convention in Philadelphia.
This marks the second time Obama will address the convention as president of the United States. The NAACP’s convention will be held July 11-15 under the theme “Pursing Liberty in the Face of Injustice.”
“We are honored to welcome President Obama back to our NAACP national convention,” said NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Brock. “Our members are looking forward to President Obama delivering a powerful message that reinforces our commitment to being champions for civil and human rights in the 21st century.”
NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks said the convention comes as America faces profound racial and social justice challenges.
“It’s a critical moment to be in Philadelphia,” Brooks said during an interview this week with The Philadelphia Tribune. “Only a few days ago, we mourned with the first America’s first African-American president in an AME church gathering and in a few days hence we will go to Philadelphia as the birthplace of African Methodists; that’s a poignant moment.
“We go to Philadelphia where the Liberty Bell stands as monument and a testament to America’s quest for freedom, at a moment in which freedoms of Americans are challenged in places like Ferguson, Staten Island, Charleston and Cleveland.”
Brooks said American freedom is being challenged across the country due to racial profiling, racialized terrorism and voter ID laws that have left African- American, Latino and rural voters disenfranchised.
The organization will focus on building a broad based agenda around voting rights, criminal justice reform, health equity, economic opportunity and education equality during the convention.
“The timing of this conversation, the timing of this convention could not be more poignant and more propitious,” Brooks said.
The convention will have an estimated economic impact of $11 million and is expected to draw upward of 8,000 dignitaries, civic and corporate leaders, according to the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The Commerce and Industry Show is one of the highlighted events. The commerce and industry show officially opens on July 11 at 11 a.m. at Exhibit Hall B, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch St. The show will be open from July 11 to 14 and will feature exhibits and booths from industry and emerging businesses leaders, a health fair and an author pavilion. It is open to the public.
This year’s show will also feature an open casting call for the show “Shark Tank” and the ACT–SO culinary arts competition. ACT–SO is the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics, a yearlong achievement program designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students.
The NAACP will also host a diversity career fair on July 14 from 12 to 6 p.m. at the convention center. Hiring managers will be on hand to answer questions about opportunities in hospitality, food service, government, technology, banking, finance, sales, customer service, energy and retail.
ajones@phillytrib.com
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