Thousands of people are arriving in Charlotte for the NAACP’s national convention, which kicked off Wednesday. The convention, which has not been held in Charlotte since 1996, is expected to generate about $17 million for the local economy.
NAACP officials say this convention is critical given the current political climate and the Trump administration’s cuts in federal spending to programs across the board. Since the NAACP’s founding in 1909, sitting presidents have always been invited to speak at the national convention, but not this year. Derrick Johnson, the organization’s national president and CEO tells WFAE’s Gwendolyn Glenn why Trump was not invited.
Derrick Johnson: What we have witnessed under this new administration is when you consider the executive orders that were done early on, many of them have now been struck down by the court for either being illegal or unconstitutional, and we could not in good conscience give our stage to an individual who from all appearances and actions, has a disregard for the Constitution itself. We as an organization, we promote civility, respect the rule of law, and we don't seek to divide people.
Gwendolyn Glenn: The theme for this conference, "The Fierce Urgency of Now." That's a phrase that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used in the past in expressing the need for immediate action against racial inequality and injustice. What does it mean for the convention?
Johnson: Well, it means not only for the convention, but for this year, a theme going throughout the year that what we see as democracy is under attack. The very things that allow all Americans to have a social safety net, a comfort of life, is being undermined. What we witnessed last week with what we call the big ugly bill would severely hamper a quality of life for many Americans. Think about Medicaid. People will lose access to health care. It's not a white issue or Black issue. That's a humane issue. There's an urgency around what we have witnessed over the last several months. And we must be more engaged than ever before because what we fear is the health of our society will continue to erode. And I define that is how well we care for our elders, how well we prepare our young people for our future to be prosperous and contribute. And do we protect the rights of the disadvantaged, how ever one may define his or her disability? And this piece of legislation erodes much of that.
Glenn: And I saw in one of your press releases that you also, in addition to calling it the big ugly budget bill, the brutal budget, because there are in addition to the things you just talked about, there are cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, which a lot of health concerns come into play there and also cuts to other agencies, like the Department of Education, agencies that that people depend on.
Johnson: What is the political argument against having clean water to drink? What is the political argument behind having fresh air to breathe? And much of what this bill has done and has weakened the ability of agencies to be good stewards of the foundational needs that all Americans depend on.
Glenn: Looking at cuts to the National Weather Service and we see what happened in Texas with the flooding when they say they didn't have enough alerts. North Carolina is a state where there are hurricanes, especially on the coast, and you have flooding.
Johnson: It was not only the weather, even the recovery, you know? North Carolina, y'all had one of the most horrific natural disasters last year, and the plea has been from citizens in North Carolina for additional FEMA help and this administration has denied it in the middle of the rebuild. Not to mention that there's another hurricane season on the way and in the midst of all of that, some people will have us distracted by saying it's DEI, (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) or the immigrants or some other thing, when in fact it's none of those things.
Glenn: Now, you mentioned DEI just now. The NAACP had a lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding DEI in schools, higher education, secondary schools' DEI programs. Where is that lawsuit?
Johnson: So we are pursuing that lawsuit, but it's not about DEI, it's about teaching accurate history. There is no operational definition for DEI. It's a weaponized term masquerading as policy that doesn't exist. It's like critical race theory — a weaponized term masquerading as policy that does not exist.
Glenn: And you talk about as well in a press release about holding the Trump administration accountable. How do you plan to do that?
Johnson: We continue to do what we've always done. We file lawsuits when we see things and believe them to be either unconstitutional or illegal. We organize people so their voices can be heard with policymakers because, ultimately, Congress would need to approve and adopt legislation to support the president. We would make sure people stay informed about what's taking place and how those policies are impacting their everyday quality of life. And we sound the alarm when no one wants to listen because sometimes it is our community that could be the canary in the coal mine.
Glenn: Well, how effective do you think that particular strategy is? The courts now in many cases are not as friendly to calls for justice, for civil rights issues, for voting rights issues and especially the U.S. Supreme Court, which is more conservative.
Johnson: But we recognize that the fight we're in isn't a four-year arc. It's not a year arc, it's not a decade arc. It is an ongoing fight and we’ve seen reactionary courts like this before; they've given this administration much more latitude to anybody thought was even possible. But we fight on. That's our job. This is a marathon and this is the baton we've been handed as one in which we must run with until we can pass it to the next set of individuals to ensure, ultimately, we will succeed.
Glenn: Now, redistricting is a big issue in North Carolina, and the NAACP is part of that particular lawsuit. Where does that stand? How is that going?
Johnson: It is absolutely crucial. It's not only North Carolina. The cases in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, the drawing of political boundaries so people can elect candidates of their choice is paramount to our democracy. And so we will actively be involved to ensure that the devices to stack, pack and crack us into districts to reduce our voice to select candidates of our choice is not the predominant methodology in which those lines are drawn. We want representative maps drawn, meaning that the diversity of any communities can be heard.
Glenn: In North Carolina, what can you say about that particular redistricting case? Do you think there will be changes, that you will prevail in that case?
Johnson: Well, we fight and as long as we fight, you know, I believe we win. And there will be advancements, there will be setbacks. But at the end of the day, we are not representing Republicans or Democrats. We're representing communities that want to have a voice in public policy.
Glenn: I remember, prior to Congressman John Lewis' passing, he talked about not believing that 50 years later (after passage of voting rights legislation) we're still fighting for the right to vote. Do you sense fatigue at all among people in terms of continuing these fights?
Johnson: I don't sense fatigue, I sense people underappreciating the true role that they have. You may get tired of going to the gas station, but you know you don't go anywhere if you don't get to the gas station and put gas in the car. And that's the same thing in society that policies and things that we care about most won't advance if we don't go to the polls and vote, if we don't raise our voices and understand the significance of our voice and appreciate that we do have a voice in the formation of public policy.
The NAACP national convention is being held at the Charlotte Convention Center through July 16.
