The NAACP, the nation’s foremost civil rights organization, announced that the 110th National Convention will take place at the COBO Center in Detroit, MI, Saturday, July 20 through Wednesday, July 24, 2019. Thousands will gather to tackle critical kitchen-table issues around health care, access to quality education, and economic opportunity. Convention attendees will discuss these topics with top 2020 contenders during a Presidential Candidates Forum.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams will address health advocates on Monday, July 22. Focusing on the ability to drive impactful change through partnerships. Adams will highlight policy solutions and new approaches to reduce the impact of diabetes, a disease which disproportionately affects African Americans. He will also present ways to better access adequate prevention programs. The president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System, Wright L. Lassiter III, is also speaking at the luncheon and will highlight his organization’s diabetes prevention efforts in the Detroit area. A session titled, Our Voices Matter: African Americans Speaking Out Against Flavored Cigarettes and E-Cigarette, will shed light on the history of smoking and tobacco advertising in black communities; diversity in the anti-smoking movement.
“Our issue-specific programming is the hallmark of advocacy and grassroots efforts each year,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. “We have an aggressive agenda that will provide attendees with the essential tools and information they need to make deep, long-lasting contributions to their communities.”
A Criminal Justice Panel: Are Prisons Obsolete: Envisioning America Beyond the Age of Mass Incarceration will look at solutions and approaches to criminal justice that do not include the mass-incarceration of communities of color. As part of a search for long-term solutions, we must ask ourselves whether traditional models of criminal justice are obsolete? Our members will learn how to advocate for smarter, results-based criminal justice policies to keep our communities safe, including treatment for addiction and mental health problems, judicial discretion in sentencing, and an end to racial disparities at all levels of the system. It is time to confront the human rights catastrophe in our jails and prisons.
Following the recent release of the 2019 Opportunity and Diversity Report Card, business leaders, entrepreneurs and CEOs from local and national corporations will share plans for increasing job opportunities for African-American workers, and addressing corporate culture, procurement and supply chain diversity practices.
The conference will feature robust discussions and activities that will examine top-line concerns in the African American community and the solutions to overcome them. Along with the top 2020 presidential contenders, the NAACP’s 110th Convention will host some of the foremost thought leaders on civil rights, LGBTQ issues, healthcare, and economic sustainability.
ABOUT NAACP 110TH CONVENTION:
The NAACP Convention brings together over 10,000 activists, organizers, and leaders to set policies priorities for the coming year. Highlights will include a Presidential Candidates Forum, a legislative session, a CEO Roundtable, LGBTQ workshop, the awarding of the prestigious Spingarn Medal to Ambassador Patrick Gaspard, and the signature NAACP Experience retail expo and diversity career fair. More information about the 110thAnnual NAACP National Convention, including a detailed schedule of events may be found by visiting naacpconvention.org.
Media interested in covering the event should apply for press credentials here.
###
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas here.
