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New York Times
19 minutes ago
- Politics
- New York Times
N.A.A.C.P. Won't Invite Trump to Its National Convention, Breaking 116-Year Tradition
The N.A.A.C.P. will not invite President Trump to its national convention, breaking from a 116-year tradition of inviting the president to the marquee event of the largest and oldest U.S. civil rights organization. Derrick Johnson, the organization's president, said in a statement that the decision was motivated by Mr. Trump's policies, which he said had set back civil rights. 'Donald Trump is attacking our democracy and our civil rights,' Mr. Johnson said. He added: 'The president has signed unconstitutional executive orders to oppress voters and undo federal civil rights protections; he has illegally turned the military on our communities, and he continually undermines every pillar of our democracy.' The move marked a new low in the relationship between the N.A.A.C.P., which advocates for the rights of African Americans and other minority groups, and Mr. Trump. He has never attended the convention while serving as president, and the organization has vigorously confronted him in high-profile legal battles and symbolic statements. The acrimony has intensified in the second Trump administration, as Mr. Trump has cracked down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government. The N.A.A.C.P. and affiliated organizations have been heavily involved in lawsuits seeking to undo Mr. Trump's executive orders banning D.E.I. practices. In a statement, Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, said that 'The N.A.A.C.P. isn't advancing anything but hate and division, while the President is focused on uniting our country.' Mr. Johnson noted in his statement that there is a long history of both Democratic and Republican presidents attending the convention: President Harry S. Truman spoke at the event in 1947 — a year before he signed an executive order desegregating the military. President Dwight D. Eisenhower attended in 1954 and praised the landmark Supreme Court decision banning public school racial segregation in Brown v. Board of Education. President Ronald Reagan received a cool reception when he spoke at the convention in 1981, vowing in his speech that 'we will not retreat on the nation's commitment to equal treatment of all citizens.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
NAACP breaks 116-year tradition, won't invite president to annual convention
June 17 (UPI) -- The NAACP says it will not invite U.S. President Donald Trump to offer remarks at its annual convention next month in North Carolina in a break with longstanding tradition for the first time in its 116 year history. The group said the sitting president is "attacking" democracy, civil rights and "believes more in the fascist playbook than in the U.S. Constitution." The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the nation's leading and foremost civil rights groups, is slated to see its 116th annual national convention July 12-16 in Charlotte. "For 116 years, the NAACP has invited the sitting president of the United States to address the NAACP National Convention -- regardless of their political party," NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said Monday in a release. The NAACP, according to Johnson, is a nonpartisan organization that "always welcome those who believe in democracy and the Constitution." In a statement, the civil rights chief said right now "it's clear" that Trump is "attacking" both civl rights and democracy. He pointed out there's a "rich history" of both Republican and Democratic presidents addressing the NAACP convention from Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama "and beyond." Last July, then-President Joe Biden made his first public appearance right after Trump's first attempted shooting in Butler, Penn., at the NAACP's 115th convention in Las Vegas. Biden told the NAACP's 2024 convention Nevada how the unemployment rate among Black Americans at that time was lower than ever, that the poverty rate among Black children was half of what it was when he entered office in 2021 and that Black-owned small businesses under the Biden administration experienced record growth. On Monday, Johnson cited in his statement the flurry of "unconstitutional executive orders" that flew out of the White House in the weeks after Trump's January 20 inaugural as part reason why he failed the invite test, scores of orders which are currently tied up under judicial review. Some, he said, "oppress voters and undo federal civil rights protections." Trump, Johnson went on to write, believes more in "the fascist playbook" than America's Constitution. "This playbook is radical and un-American." He stated that the president "illegally turned the military on our communities," and he "continually undermines every pillar of our democracy to make himself more powerful and to personally benefit from the U.S. government." However, the convention's intended to be a "safe space for all people regardless of political ideology -- who believe in multiracial democracy and the ideal of building a more perfect union," Johnson continued. "To that end, the NAACP has made the decision to break with tradition and not invite Donald Trump or J.D. Vance this year," Johnson concluded, adding his belief that the Trump administration "does not respect the Constitution or the rule of law." The NAACP's annual convention, Johnson says, has always been a place where people across the United States unite to "map out our advocacy" and mobilization strategies in order to advance an agenda "for all" based on ideals of civil rights and democracy. "It would be a waste of our time and energy to give a platform to fascism, which would be unacceptable," the NAACP head wrote.
NBC News
3 hours ago
- Business
- NBC News
NAACP announces plans to sue Musk's xAI over pollution concerns
The NAACP announced Tuesday that it intends to bring a lawsuit under the Clean Air Act against Elon Musk's startup xAI, which launched a supercomputer project in Memphis last year. The company's use of gas turbines to power the supercomputer, Colossus, runs afoul of environmental regulations and is worsening pollution in the area, the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents the NAACP, wrote in a letter to xAI. The turbines emit nitrogen oxides, a key contributor to smog, and formaldehyde, among other pollutants, according to their manufacturer. Last month, the NAACP called for an emergency order to shut down the supercomputer until a permit is obtained. Tuesday's announcement was a further escalation, with the organization notifying the company, as required by law, of its intent to sue unless the company addresses the alleged violations. 'We cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice — where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits and think they'll get away with it because the people don't have the power to fight back,' NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement. 'We will not allow xAI to get away with this.' The Southern Environmental Law Center argues that xAI was required to have a permit before bringing the turbines onsite. But the county health department, the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce have said permits aren't required for the turbines' first year of use. In a statement Tuesday, xAI said it's following the law. 'We take our commitment to the community and environment seriously,' an xAI spokesperson said in a statement. 'The temporary power generation units are operating in compliance with applicable laws.'
The Independent
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
NAACP breaks 116-year tradition and skips inviting president to its annual convention
The NAACP announced it will not invite President Donald Trump to its national convention next month, marking the first time in the civil rights organization's 116-year history that a sitting U.S. president has been excluded. 'This has nothing to do with political party,' NAACP President Derrick Johnson said. 'Our mission is to advance civil rights, and the current president has made clear that his mission is to eliminate civil rights.' In a statement Monday, Johnson slammed the current administration's lack of regard for civil rights as the reason for breaking from the organization's long-standing tradition to invite the sitting president. 'The president has signed unconstitutional executive orders to oppress voters and undo federal civil rights protections; he has illegally turned the military on our communities, and he continually undermines every pillar of our democracy to make himself more powerful and to personally benefit from the U.S. government,' Johnson said. Johnson noted that the convention is meant to be a safe space for all, regardless of political ideology, and while the NAACP had previously invited presidents with whom it had policy disagreements, they had to break tradition this year. 'To that end, the NAACP has made the decision to break with tradition and not invite Donald Trump or J.D. Vance this year,' the statement continued. 'This administration does not respect the Constitution or the rule of law. It would be a waste of our time and energy to give a platform to fascism, which would be unacceptable.' The convention is taking place from July 12 to 16 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and comes as the NAACP has filed multiple lawsuits against Trump. withholding federal money for schools that declined to end their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. With reporting from the Associated Press.
Deccan Herald
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
In historic first, NAACP will not invite Trump to convention
Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, accused the Republican president of working against the group's mission.
