CHARLOTTE — This year, the NAACP’s national convention will be hosted in Charlotte. And for the first time in 116 years, the President of the United States will not be invited.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson hosted a press conference on Monday, ahead of the convention, which is slated for Charlotte’s Convention Center next month.
He said thousands are expected to attend, and leaders said that the convention is open to everyone and all political parties.
But Johnson said that open invitation is not extended to President Donald Trump this year.
The theme of the 2025 convention is “The Fierce Urgency of Now.” And leaders said there is an immediate need for action in its ongoing fight for rights.
Johnson told the media that President Trump’s presence at the convention would not further that theme.
“Our job is to make democracy work and to fight and protect democracy, and there is a conflict in the things he has done, he is doing, and things that are being planned with our job,” he said.
Former President Joe Biden spoke at last year’s NAACP convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. President Trump was invited to last year’s convention but elected not to attend. He also did not attend during his previous presidential term.
Convention to bring financial boom to Queen City
In July 1996, the convention center was the place to be, as Charlotte welcomed the NAACP National Convention. 29 years later, the annual event is returning.
Thousands are expected to the attend the annual convention starting July 12.
“Packed restaurants, filled museums, lots of shopping, ladies, and a chance to show off our small businesses and entrepreneurs,” Mayor Vi Lyles said.
More importantly, Mayor Vi Lyles says the convention will bring thousands of leaders, thinkers, and advocates to have important conversations.
The convention will feature what’s being called the Hub.
It’s a 50,000-square-foot community space that everyone will be able to visit and will include local businesses, author signings, and programming.
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