Some excerpted dispatches from the NAACP Convention. Full story at the Los Angeles Wave.
During a panel discussion on the topic, Rev. William Barber — NAACP North Carolina state conference president, and a member of the organization’s national board of directors — spoke to the youth in the audience . . . We must take personal any attempt to suppress, segregate, isolate or steal the necessity and the potential of the black, brown and progressive vote.”
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On Wednesday, a special plenary session of the convention focused on two hot-button political topics of the moment: Voter ID laws and redistricting. An official document circulated by the NAACP charged “extremist” state legislators across the nation with promoting initiatives that would result in the disenfranchisement of millions of eligible voters; in some cases, it said, those forces have already succeeded in passing regressive election laws, including requirements that photo identification be shown before voters can cast ballots.
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To combat these problems, NAACP officials asked members to volunteer at least five hours per week for a local 2012 civic engagement program, and recruit five volunteers for the program; join the NAACP’s mobile messaging program to receive to-the-minute updates on civic engagement, identify a civic engagement coordinator and technology/database manager for both the state and local level; devote at least eight hours for training during the upcoming fall conventions; develop a voter registration plan by the end of November; and launch a local voter registration and education campaign by Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
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As convention delegates gathered for the first time on Sunday night, Rep. Maxine Waters delivered a blistering defense of race-conscious politics.
She also touched on matters of political reform, telling a rapt audience of thousands that conservative politicians are actively working to roll back the voting rights of African-Americans ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
“With only 15 months left before the next presidential election, Republicans are rewriting voting laws to require photo identification at the polls, reduce the number of days of early voting and to enhance voting restrictions against ex-felons and out-of-state students,” Waters said, citing legislation signed into law by GOP governors in Texas, Wisconsin and Florida.
“Make no mistake: We have been down this road before with Jim Crow laws,” Waters added, calling the laws “21st century poll taxes and literacy tests.”
Drawing raucous applause, the firebrand congresswoman from L.A. said, “NAACP, I recognize that you’re non-partisan — but I’m not. Sometimes … we simply cannot try to get along with everyone. We cannot … be worried that some people will say, ‘Oh, they’re playing the race card.’ Those of us who are willing to step outside the box and fight for justice and equality must be prepared to take the criticism and make the sacrifice.”
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In her Sunday night keynote address, NAACP Chairman Roslyn Brock brought the assembled delegates to their feet several times, particularly in her defense of progressive stances that have sparked criticism in some political circles.
“My fellow freedom fighters,” she said, “we must fight for the right without question or pause. And be willing to walk into hell for this heavenly cause.”
UPDATE: In another story involving voting and the NAACP, read about the voter fraud conviction of Lessadolla Sowers.