"Having our say" in Miami

At times, it seemed like an old-time revival, as more than 10,000 people gathered in Miami Beach for the 94th annual NAACP convention held July 12-17. This year's theme was "Having our Say," and convention delegates did, as they remembered the past while focusing on the injustices that continue to plague minorities today.

The convention opened to the sounds of African drummers and dancers. And though President George W. Bush and his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, both declined the NAACP's invitation to attend, Miami Beach Mayor David Dernier welcomed the NAACP back to the city after more than two decades.

"Our nation is regressing, not progressing," Chairman Julian Bond said at the convention's opening public mass meeting. "We will have our say, and we will be heard!"

Convention workshops included discussions on affirmative action, the criminal justice system, minority unemployment, health disparities, immigration and voting rights. The convention also included a diversity job fair; commerce, industry and retail show; and legal education seminars for lawyers.

Historic milestones were remembered as well. Harvard professor Charles Ogletree gave a commentary on the 100th anniversary of W.E.B. Du Bois' The Souls of Black Folk, and a video tribute marked the 40th anniversary of the assassination of NAACP Mississippi field secretary Medgar Evers.

NAACP President and CEO Kweisi Mfume emphasized the convention's theme during his keynote address at the first plenary session urging delegates to continue the fight for equality and justice.

"We have not given up on the American idea or on the American possibility," Mfume said. "Let there be no mistake...we have come to have our say."

Economist Julianne Malveaux moderated a presidential candidates forum, and representatives from six Caribbean countries gathered at the first annual Caribbean Summit.

At the annual membership luncheon, Rachel Robinson, widow of baseball great Jackie Robinson, noted how important the NAACP was to her family.

"We never felt entirely alone," Robinson said. "I know the NAACP will continue to lead the way."

Membership luncheon keynote speaker Myrlie Evers Williams reminded NAACP members of their significant work.

"We are still here," the former board chair said. "We are still strong and becoming stronger. We are a group to be reckoned with."

The Youth and College Division sponsored a youth mass meeting featuring Judge Greg Mathis and an affirmative action town hall meeting.

Spc. Shoshana Johnson, who was taken as a POW in Iraq when her battalion was captured, was given a special recognition during the Military and Veterans' Affairs Awards Dinner.

The convention ended with the awarding of the 88th Spingarn Medal to New York federal Judge Constance Baker Motley for her distinguished career as a civil rights attorney. At the last plenary session, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson gave delegates lasting words of hope.

"Civil rights laws are left unenforced. Labor is under attack," Jackson said. "[But we must] keep the faith and hold fast to the dream."

- Lottie L. Joiner

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