Chairman Bond's Address to 97th NAACP Convention

[Ian David]

Chairman Bond's Address to 97th NAACP Convention

By
Julian Bond
Chairman, NAACP National Board of Directors

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Our host city is the home of the most powerful people in the United States and the most powerless. You know who the most powerful are. We citizens of this great city are the most powerless, without voting representation in Congress. Those who are trying to export democracy abroad ought to be as interested in expanding democracy here at home, starting with voting rights for the District of Columbia.

Thank heavens we are meeting here this year and not in Indiana. According to the Department of Homeland Security, you see, Indiana has more terrorist targets - 8,591 - than any other place in the nation. Here in Washington, by contrast, there are only 416, making DC among the nation's safest places. Of course the Homeland Security Department's list of terrorist targets includes Old McDonald's Petting Zoo in Woodville, Alabama, Sweetwater Flea Market near Knoxville, and the Amish County Popcorn Factory in Berne, Indiana, so its reliability is a bit questionable.

You might recall that during last year's convention, I extended an invitation to President Bush to come to this year's convention. In 2005, for the fifth straight year, he had declined to appear before us, citing scheduling conflicts. That was true - he had spent the previous weeks scheduling conflicts.

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Those who engage in declarations and denials to the contrary do not serve our country well.

For example, late last summer the Justice Department conducted a study of racial profiling, which President Bush had vowed to end in America. In the news release describing the study, the administration tried to eliminate any reference to the racial disparities the study found. When the person responsible for the study balked at this, he was removed from his job.

Apparently, the way to end racial profiling is to deny it exists.

More:
http://www.naacp.org/news/chairman/2006-07-16.html



(Julian Bond is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Government at the
American University in Washington, DC, and a Professor in History at the
University of Virginia. In February l998, he was elected Chairman of the
NAACP Board of Directors.)

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