- Sat Jul 11, 2015 10:47 am
#60412
With the country at a seeming crossroads when it comes to race relations, the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization is gathering for its annual meeting in Philadelphia.
The 106th annual convention of the NAACP is taking place in Philadelphia starting on Saturday. Over 8,000 branch leaders will be attending with a all star lineup of speakers. Talks will be lead off by Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who filed charges against six police officers in the April death of a black man who'd been held in police custody.
Later in the week, President Obama addresses the group Tuesday afternoon U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch will speak Wednesday night. Organization President Cornell William Brooks speaks as an introduction to a panel exploring how prosecutors are addressing justice inequities on Monday morning. "We're really at a crossroads in America," Rodney Muhammad, president of the Philadelphia NAACP, told PhillyVoice.com. "We are here to stop the use of excessive force by police, no justice no peace. This is a time for pause in America, a time to put the mirror up and for this nation to take a look at itself. More most be done to afford everyone opportunities to share in this country's great wealth; policies and racism has left black communities behind."
The organization says the meeting will provide temporary jobs that will have an economic impact of $10.5 million on Philadelphia. Contracts are set aside for minority owned businesses.
