CHARLOTTE — The NAACP National Convention is getting into full swing in the Queen City, and Channel 9 spoke with organizers about the meaning behind the century-old event, plus what’s in store for guests.
Channel 9: The theme of this year’s convention is the fierce urgency of now talk to us about that theme and what inspired it.
Vanessa Mbonu, Vice President of Marketing: What inspired that theme is really about the moment that we’re living in right now, and that there has never been a time in our generation where it is more important to take power back into our own hands and really see what we want to see in the world that we live in. So whether that be civic engagement, whether that be economic equity, whether that be social impact, we want people to understand that we are truly living in perilous times, and the fierce urgency of now is the what really the only way we can explain how important it is that we all get, you know, activated, and we all put power back into our own hands.
Channel 9: People have been asking us, as we have been talking about your national convention coming here to our fair city -- NAACP, is a shift in what we are calling the organization, a simple shift [from N-double-A-C-P]. But can you explain the reasoning behind that?
Mbonu: It’s a simple shift? Yes, but there is power in each of those five letters: NAACP. We are here for the advancement of all of our people. And so we want people to know who they’re talking about. We want people to know that we are really here fighting for each and every single one of you, and we don’t want you to confuse us with any other organizations. But hey, I’ll tell you something, as long as you’re calling on us, we’re okay with it. So NAACP is what we say, but call us.
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Channel 9: We are hearing there’s a special treat for guests [Friday] evening who come to the convention. It’s really open to everyone tonight. Tell us more about the big event.
VIDEO: 116th NAACP National Convention back in the Queen City
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Mbonu: Yes, we are so excited to invite everyone down to the convention center, to the hub. The hub is really the heart of the NAACP convention. It’s where we have an opportunity to invite our friends, our families, everyone, really, to come down and experience what the NAACP is all about. As I mentioned earlier, there is room for everybody in the NAACP universe. And the hub is really that exemplified. And number one, it is free, it is free, free, free, free, free. And so we have giveaways, we have panels, we have prizes, we have health screenings, we have a career fair going on. And so there’s a lot of things that people can come in and enjoy themselves. And we’re going to be here through Monday.
(VIDEO: NCAAP National Convention underway in Uptown)
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Musical guest MC Lyte is also set to perform Friday evening to mark the NAACP Convention’s return to Charlotte for the first time since 1996.