NAACP Annual Convention Convenes in Baltimore

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As the new administration in the White House continues to cause many to be uneasy, there remains an obvious need for America’s oldest and largest national civil rights organization to move forward.

Beginning Saturday, July 22, 2017 the NAACP will host its 108th annual convention in Baltimore, and organizers said the five-day conference will allow for the setting of policies, programs and plans of action for the coming year. There will also be a move to address challenges like the current economic climate and the uncertainty of when the next episode of political unrest is coming up on the horizon.

NAACP Chair Leon Russell

Courtesy Photo

NAACP Chair Leon Russell

“This year’s convention takes place at a pivotal time for our country, and for our association,” Leon W. Russell, the chairman of the NAACP national board of directors, said in a statement. “These are changing times, and today, we find ourselves in a new period of turmoil as a nation. We are facing a budget that threatens to gut critical funding for education, a rollback in health care reform that will take affordable care away from 23 million Americans, all while we witness unprecedented efforts to suppress the votes of black and brown people, young people and progressives who would work to see this nation become more inclusive and just.”

The convention will attract members from NAACP branches around the country to meet and share ideas and strategies, said Aba Blankson, the organization’s vice president of communications and digital media.

“The NAACP and the convention are critical at this time,” Blankson said.

While many events during the conference typically aren’t for public consumption, Blankson says this year’s convention will feature several events for everyone to attend.

For instance, beginning Saturday, the NAACP Experience will feature an author pavilion where authors will discuss their works and make them available.

The ‘Experience’ will also include exhibitions, a retail expo and health pavilion, where health screenings and massages will be available for those in attendance.

“We will also have a diversity career fair on Tuesday and companies like Amazon and Johns Hopkins will be there,” Blankson said.

T-Mobile, Waste Management, the Human Rights Campaign and the U.S. Postal Service have also signed on as exhibitors for the career fair and attendees will be able to engage with corporate leaders and make quality connections that could help build a solid network of professionals who value diversity.

Professional opportunities will be available in the fields of technology, finance, education, insurance, sales, government, nonprofit, retail, food service, health and more, according to organizers.

Various youth events are also scheduled, including a number of workshops. Further, a public mass meeting will take place on Sunday, July 23 with Russell serving as keynote speaker.

The location of the convention rotates each year and organizers look at cities based on national issues and what the NAACP seeks to accomplish, Blankson said.

“We have 6,000 to 8,000 people coming and we want to go to different places; East Coast, Midwest; we go all over,” she said.

The convention’s theme, “Steadfast and Immovable,” reflects that the NAACP remains poised and committed to seizing the future, according to organizers.

Branch delegates and staff, local youth activists and organizers, legislators, business leaders and celebrities are all again expected to come together to engage, network, share strategies, successes and key learnings with the purpose of driving the NAACP’s agenda forward.

“Our theme for 2017 reminds us that, as an organization, our intent is to fulfill the vision and mission of our founders, and we will leave Baltimore united and committed to making our nation a better place for all,” Derrick Johnson, the vice president of the board of directors, said in a release.

The convention will feature a robust series of seminars, committee meetings, workshops, exhibits and panel discussions, augmented with inspiring keynote addresses from key NAACP leadership, civil rights and faith leaders, media, youth and political influencers.

“Fellowshipping is good,” Blankson said. “It provides the opportunity to hear the issues that everyone is facing,” she said.

For more information about the 2017 NAACP National Convention, including a detailed schedule of events, visit: www.naacpconvention.org.